She Always Comes Back
by RBCrazyFan
Summary: Originally Titled "Surprising Twist": McSwarek future fict - A backup for an undercover gone wrong leaves the family shattered. How will Sam pick up the pieces and will Andy ever find her way back to them?
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: Don't own Rookie Blue.

A.N. I started writing this before Season 2 was complete but only had to change one key component (thank you Donovan Boyd – not). It was requested that I write longer chapters in my multichapter ficts and I'm trying to but the first few chapters were already written before I got that request so I tried in the later chapters.

A.N.2 - the good news about a new year is that I can scratch my resolution from last year of only posting one multichapter fict at a time.

This chapter is just an introduction…

Enjoy!

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><p>Prologue:<p>

Sam unlocked the door and called "Andy?"

A few seconds later, she stepped into the front hallway. "Hey. How was your day?" she asked softly.

Sam stepped closer and kissed her softly, mindful of the nine month old baby in her arms and the groceries in his own. "Boring. I can't wait until we're back on shift together. How was your day?"

Before Andy could answer, a small voice demanded "uppy!"

"Mommy's holding you sweetie."

"Sam!"

Surprised by his wife's tone, Sam quickly set down the packages and scooped his daughter out of Andy's arms. "Hi Cuteness" he said to his daughter before looking at his wife. "What's wrong?"

"Sorry. My day was long."

Sam raised an eyebrow and touched her arm. "What happened?"

Andy sighed. "Well, it seems that this one here," she stroked her daughter's cheek affectionately, "decided that she no longer likes being left to her own devices. Last week I was thrilled when she said her first word and started crawling on the same day. Today, not so much, especially when she refused to nap."

Sam looked at Andy, concerned. "Did you sleep at all?" She was going undercover as backup but if she was exhausted, he would call Frank and have her pulled.

Andy smiled at his concern. "I did. Dad came back a day early." Her shift probably would have been swapped for the night anyway but she and Sam were normally on the same shift. Her father watched their girls while they worked. Since he had gone away, Andy was pulling the night shifts and Sam was on day shifts.

"He's back early?"

Andy nodded. "He said something about missing his family too much. I think he meant the girls, not us."

Sam had to smile at that one. His father-in-law loved their two girls and would do anything for them.

Andy saw his smile and bit her lip. She knew Sam would not like the next part. She decided to tell him anyway, after all, secrets never came out neat and tidy - as he had warned her by the Rebecca Leigh kidnapping case. "He wanted to know why you were on day shift and I was on the night shift."

Sam cringed and his hand tightened involuntarily around her arm. Technically both of their shifts were a little off today because of this backup for a bust but Tommy was right. Normally when Tommy was unavailable, Andy worked the day shift and he worked the night shift since if either of the girls woke in the middle of the night, nine times out of ten they wanted Andy, not Sam. This time, Frank wanted Andy as a backup on the bust, not Sam (something about women in a club was less obvious then men). Andy was not the only one; Gail, Traci, and a bunch of the female rookies (as they called all groups under Andy's group) were also pulled from their regular assignments. "What did you tell him?"

"The bare bones of the truth. Fifteenth's backup for a bust. Frank wants the ladies. Tonight is the last night. Tomorrow we both have off and then everything goes back to normal."

"And he was okay with that?" He released her arm.

Andy nodded. "He said tomorrow he is taking the family out to lunch and then he's taking the girls because you and I deserve some alone time. He refused to tell me about his trip saying he wants to tell us together. He took the baby and told me to take a nap and get ready."

"I can't believe I missed him."

"He left about half an hour ago." She looked at her watch. "I need to finish getting ready. I've gotta go soon."

Sam nodded and then looked around. "Where's Lissy?" Their four and a half year old daughter usually ran to greet him as soon as he entered.

"Playing with the new toy that Grandpa bought for her. By the way, we need to decide if we should register her as 'Lissy' or 'Melissa'."

Sam rolled his eyes. "Not now. It's the middle of the winter; we still have a little while to decide. Finish getting ready. I'll take care of the groceries and Serena." He smiled at his daughter. "Right baby girl" he cooed.

Andy smiled. Never in a million years would she have imagined Sam with a side like this but the girls brought out a different side of him.

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><p>When she reappeared, Sam was waiting for her. He smiled and then called "Lissy, come say goodbye to Mommy." They knew better than for Andy to just slip out, the first, and only, time they had tried that, Lissy had cried herself sick for not being able to say 'goodnight' to her mommy and Andy had come home early.<p>

A whirlwind of brown hair blew into the hallway but instead of a hug, she smacked Andy. It wasn't hard, it didn't hurt, but it took Sam and Andy by surprise.

Sam handed Serena to Andy and knelt, grabbing his daughter lightly by the shoulders. "Melissa Swarek! We DO NOT hit! We use our words."

As surprised as she was by her daughter's outburst, Andy had to smile at the way Sam handled the situation, gentle but firm.

"You need to say you're sorry to Mommy."

Lissy burst into tears. "I don't want her to go."

Andy knelt and handed Serena back to Sam. She gathered Lissy in her arms. "I don't want to go either sweetie but it's my job and you still can't hit if you don't like something."

Sam stood with Serena and watched as Andy handled the situation. They worked well as a team, even with their children, and knew when to step back and let the other parent take over.

Lissy hiccupped. "Sorry Mommy. I want you to stay and read me a bedtime story."

Andy glanced at her watch. She was actually a little ahead of schedule. "You have two choices. Either Mommy can read you one quick story and then Daddy and Mommy can both tuck you in or you can stay up a little later and Daddy will tuck you in." This would help Sam; she already knew what her daughter would choose.

"You" Lissy said.

Lissy skipped up to her room as Sam placed a hand on Andy's shoulder. "You sure?"

Andy nodded and stretched out her hand. Sam was already standing and he helped her up. "She's all ready for bed and she'll give you a hard time. Frank'll understand. He has kids." She took Serena out of his arms.

They headed up to the girls' bedroom. Ever since Serena started sleeping through the night, Andy had moved Serena into Lissy's room – it made her mornings easier, especially when they were on different shifts and Sam was asleep.

Lissy handed her a Mother Goose book. "I picked two" she announced proudly.

Andy smiled. Normally she read three but Lissy knew that she needed to go. She settled Serena on her lap with Lissy next to her. Andy quickly read the stories and then kissed her older daughter.

"Mommy? Can you sing the come back song?"

Andy nodded and began to sing softly. "My mommy comes back, she always comes back, she always comes back to get me. My mommy comes back, she always comes back, she never will forget me."

"Will you give me a kiss when you come home?"

Andy kissed her forehead. "Of course sweetie. I always do. Goodnight." She stood, with Serena still in her arms.

Sam kissed her. "Night Princess."

"Night Mommy. Night Daddy. Night Serena."

By the time they reached the doorway, Lissy was fast asleep.

Sam pulled Andy to the living room. He took Serena from Andy and set her on the floor before pulling Andy close. "Stay safe tonight. I love you." He kissed her.

When they broke for air, Andy smiled. "I love you too." She bent down and picked up Serena. "Be good for Daddy." She kissed Serena's forehead and handed her to Sam. "Her bottle is in the refrigerator. She might be ready for bed early since she didn't take a nap today."

Sam smiled. "You would think I was a babysitter. We'll be fine. Say 'bye-bye' to Mommy Serena."

Serena looked at Andy and said "bah-bah".

Andy froze for a second and then kissed her daughter. "Bye-bye Serena. Sam, I'm really going to be late if I don't leave now so can you please write that in her book under second word?"

Sam nodded. "Relax Andy. We'll be fine. Stay safe and wake me when you get home."

"Like you'll really be asleep" she muttered before giving him a quick peck on the lips. "Love you."

"Love you too." He watched her walk out to the truck before closing the door.

Little did either of them know…

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><p>A.N. Reviews make my day and encourage me to edit faster...nine chapters are already pretty much written.<p> 


	2. Chapter 1: UC Gone Wrong

Disclaimer: Don't own Rookie Blue.

A.N. Thanks for all of the reviews/alerts/favorites (especially the favorites since I haven't really gotten that far in the story yet). I was so overwhelmed when I opened my inbox and saw the amount of emails I had waiting for me.

A.N.2 - The title of this story will change after the story is completed. I don't want to switch it right now because it will give away part of the story.

Enjoy!

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><p>Chapter 1 – UC Gone Wrong:<p>

Andy rushed into the station. She was a little late but so was Traci.

"Jerry told me to say no next time. I couldn't get out" Traci moaned.

"Sam didn't come out and say it but he feels the same way. My Dad voiced his opinion on the matter."

"I thought you weren't telling him?"

"He came back early and watched the girls so I could sneak in a nap since Serena refused to sleep today."

Their conversation stopped as they slipped into the Parade Room.

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><p>The plan was simple. Drug Squad's target was going to be at the club. They were backup just in case. Their weapons were already inside and in a secure location but they were not to go for their weapons unless Drug Squad was overpowered. Drug Squad believed the target would come willingly once cornered and didn't expect any problems.<p>

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><p>Shortly after Andy left, Sam noticed that Serena was yawning. He opened the fridge and laughed at Andy's note that he needed to eat which she had taped onto Serena's bottle. He gave Serena her bottle and then sat down in the rocking chair. Within minutes, she was asleep.<p>

He placed her in her crib and then slipped out of the room. He ate a quick dinner and then grabbed the baby monitor before heading into the garage. Their anniversary was coming up and he was creating a jewelry box for Andy from scratch. He was almost done and as long as the girls slept, he would finish tonight.

He was placing the finishing touches on the box when he heard a whimper of "Mommy". He knew it had to be Lissy because Serena just cried (and recently started calling "uppy" until Sam or Andy took her out of her crib). He quickly put everything away and took the stairs two at a time.

He sat down at the edge of Lissy's bed and pushed her hair out of her eyes. "Sh, Lissy, it's okay, it was just a dream."

Her eyes opened. "Where's Mommy?"

"She's not home yet." He saw more tears threatening to spill. "Come" he scooped her up and took her out of the room before she woke her sister. He had no interest in dealing with two screaming children.

"I want Mommy" she whimpered.

"I know" Sam said softly. "Do you want to sleep in her bed until she gets home?" He was at a loss as to what to do with her and his gut was screaming at him. On 'normal' nights, Andy normally called when she was bored. Lissy had woken up twice while Andy was on night shift and both times Andy had been able to convince her to go back to bed over the phone. Tonight he knew Andy couldn't call until the bust was over and by then she could just come home so she probably wouldn't call.

"Will you stay with me?"

"Of course." Sam set her on the bed before going into the bathroom to change. When he came out, Lissy snuggled up next to him. He smiled and stroked her hair, she reminded him of Andy in so many ways.

"Sing Mommy's song" she commanded softly.

Sam rolled his eyes. He really hated the 'My Mommy Comes Back' song that Andy always sang to Lissy but it always worked.

Sure enough, twenty minutes later, she was out cold. Sam knew he should move her back to her bed but he found himself drifting off.

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><p>He woke an hour later to his cell phone ringing. He quickly silenced it and slipped out of bed, careful not to wake his sleeping daughter.<p>

He walked into the hallway and closed the door until it was only open a crack before looking at his phone.

Dread filled him as he answered. "What's wrong Tommy?" His father-in-law never called this late unless it was an emergency. Sam's gut was screaming at him that something bad had happened to Andy.

"I'm outside your house."

Sam grabbed his jeans and a t-shirt before running down the stairs, jumping into his clothes as he went, as he heard a key in the lock and Tommy let himself in. Sam disabled the alarm before looking at Tommy. "What's going on?"

"I don't know. Frank Best called. He said he heard I was back in town and he needs you so he wanted to know if I could watch the girls."

Sam's face clouded with worry. Frank calling Tommy was not a good sign, especially considering Frank had not called him. "Lissy's in my bed" he said as he grabbed his jacket and his badge.

As he slipped his shoes on, Tommy held out his keys. "Take my car."

"What? Why?" Not that Sam minded, Tommy's car was a used car that Sam had fixed up for him.

"Andy has the truck and I haven't put the car seats back into my car yet. If this takes a while, I need to be able to get Lissy to preschool tomorrow."

Sam nodded and accepted the keys. They both knew something had happened to Andy. "Thank you."

"Keep me posted."

Sam left. His father-in-law knew the house and would make himself comfortable. If either of the girls woke, Tommy was probably the best bet after Andy or himself.

He dialed Frank as he turned the car on.

"Andy tell you where the bust was taking place?"

"Yeah."

"Meet me here." Frank hung up before Sam could ask any questions.

Luckily, Sam knew the back roads to get to the club. He was able to get within half a block before he was stopped. He flashed his badge and was waved through.

As soon as he stepped out of the car, Jo Rosati spotted him and waved him over. His heart leapt to his throat. Luke was out of town but if they called Jo down…

He shook his head, refusing to believe.

Sam walked over to Jo and saw the she was standing with Frank at the back of an ambulance, along with a few other officers. "What's going on?" he asked as soon as he was within hearing distance without yelling.

Frank turned to the rookie who was sitting on the stretcher, her head bleeding sluggishly. "Kelly?"

She swallowed. "We got into the club and everything was running smoothly. As Drug Squad predicted, the guy went quietly. Still people noticed the extra police presence. From the way they were talking, I don't think anyone thought about the undercovers.

"We were given the signal to pull out slowly. It was kinda like roll call. As I made my way to the exit, I was grabbed from behind. They dragged me outside. I was so scared. I started screaming that I was the police. The men who had me stopped and I realized that they had grabbed a few other people. McNally was one of them. I was about to call out to her when she shook her head. I looked away and then they must have hit me because the next thing I remembered, Officer Anderson was sitting next to me, telling me not to move."

She stopped and Jo put an arm around her, murmuring quietly in her ear.

Sam turned to Frank. "Andy's missing?" fear colored his voice.

Frank sighed. We have an APB out already. If we don't find her by eight, Peck is going to hold a press conference." He saw the look on his friend's face. "Don't lose hope Sam. Gut feeling is that she's alive."

Sam nodded. "Where're Peck and Nash?"

"Already back at the station. They don't know yet. I wanted you to find out first and I need them to be fresh for shift. I did call in Diaz and Epstein. They'll be here shortly but they don't know what is going on."

Jo spoke, anticipating Sam's next question. "We're canvassing the area. As soon as I heard, I called my commander and he sent over everyone he can spare. We'll find her."

Sam nodded again and then looked at the medic who was tending to Kelly. Poor kid was just a rookie. "Is she okay for me to borrow her for a few minutes?" Kelly had been assigned to him once, he normally rode with one of the three male rookies.

The medic nodded.

Sam asked Kelly to walk him through the kidnapping. When they reached the spot where she said she had a visual on Andy, he told her to stop. He motioned for Jo to come over. "When I reach the spot where you think you saw Andy, tell Detective Rosati." He began to walk away.

When Jo called out for him to stop, he looked around. After two minutes he found what he was looking for and returned to the group. "Her ear piece." He turned to Kelly. "You were close enough that someone might have heard you so they didn't want to kill you. Andy was much farther away. She got rid of the ear piece while you were screaming so they wouldn't suspect her. You did everything right." He was a training officer through and through and he knew that he had to reassure Kelly that it wasn't her fault in any way, shape, or form.

Jo sighed. "Makes our job harder." She looked at Kelly. "Go back to the medics. Sam?"

He looked at her. "You can't expect me not to search for her!"

"I didn't say that. Who has the girls?"

"Tommy."

"You need to tell him before it hits the news."

Sam nodded and headed to the car for some privacy. He was about to deliver a blow to his father-in-law but he wanted his father-in-law to try to keep it from the girls for the time being.

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><p>A.N. Reviews make my day so let me know what you think! The next chapter is Andy's POV<p> 


	3. Chapter 2: The Granger Gang

Disclaimer: Don't own Rookie Blue.

A.N. This chapter is Andy's POV. I will go back to Sam's POV eventually.

A.N.2 Sorry for the delay, I wanted to post yesterday but fanfiction had other ideas...

Enjoy!

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><p>Chapter 2 – The Granger Gang:<p>

Andy woke on the floor. She smiled as she thought of what to tell Lissy when their daughter walked in on them on the floor.

She opened her eyes and her heart sank as her smile disappeared. She was not in her bedroom; she was not in her house and Sam was nowhere to be found.

Suddenly, she remembered everything. _They had received the call to clear out and then she was grabbed. She fought but they were stronger._

_When her captors grabbed Kelly, Kelly screamed that she was the police. Andy wished she had thought of it earlier but it was too late. As all of the men shifted their attention to Kelly, Andy was able to discard her earpiece. She took a quick count. Twelve men and seven captives already including herself and Kelly._

_Kelly caught her gaze and Andy quickly shook her head. Kelly was close enough to the club but these men would probably kill her if she yelled out that she was also police since she was farther away. They might also kill Kelly if she spoke._

_She smelled chloroform and realized she must have miscalculated about the number of captors as her world went black._

Andy looked around the room. A small light was coming from the bathroom. From the glow, she was able to make out a bed. There were no windows, which meant that the room was an illegal bedroom. Near the door was a light switch.

She moved towards the switch, figuring she had nothing left to lose.

Her hand froze mid-air as she heard voices.

"…Missing Officer. Anyone with information about Officer Andrea McNally's whereabouts…"

The rest of the report was cut off by a sneering voice. "Guess they think some people are really that dumb."

"What do you mean?" A second voice asked.

"Think of it Jake. You call in with a tip. You become their prime suspect. If you ask me, whoever has her should kill her and dump the body. It's not worth it. The cops are also hiding something. Notice they only gave a general area where she went missing and that is the club district. Maybe she wanted to disappear..."

The discussion faded into background noise as Andy moved away from the door and sat on the bed, her heart beating rapidly. She couldn't use her name; she needed a cover story that would be easy to remember.

Her thoughts flew to Sam and how she chose Candace as her cover name.

Suddenly it hit her. Sam left the night Leslie Atkins died. She could say her name was Leslie. Leslie had been a waitress but she would say she was a bookkeeper-slash-secretary. Between fending for herself and her father when he was drunk and all of the paperwork she had done during her time on the force, she was pretty confident in her skills. Sam never let her touch their bills at home, insisting it was his job to make sure the family was provided for, but she could have done it had Sam not been available to take care of the bills.

She slipped into the bathroom and had to smile. After Serena was born, she had tried to diet but when Serena refused to nurse, the doctor told her to wait. She had fully stopped nursing a few weeks ago but had still not lost all of the weight she had gained in her face. If her captors saw a picture of her, it would be her rookie picture and hopefully they wouldn't recognize her.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped out of the bathroom and made her way to the light switch. She flipped the switch and then moved to the bed to wait.

Two minutes later a man entered. "Name?"

"Leslie Atkins" she replied in a trembling voice. She had to act scared, which was not hard.

"Occupation?"

"Bookkeeper slash secretary."

"Reason for being in the club last night."

She saw the way he was looking at her. "Well" she paused, licking her lower lip "I'm new in town. My whole family is out West. I came here to try my luck. I've been feeling a little lonely and someone misinformed me that the club was female friendly."

"You mean…" he trailed off and Andy nodded. She didn't care what he thought but hopefully he would stay away from her. Her body was for Sam, and Sam alone. She didn't want anyone else to touch her.

He studied her for a long minute. Finally he said "let's see how good you are, Miss Bookkeeper." He left the room and returned a minute later with some papers and a calculator. "Here."

Andy accepted the sheets. She studied them for a minute, careful not to show her relief at the simplicity, before asking for extra paper.

"Why?"

"I like scrape paper to work out my numbers even though I use the calculator."

He left again to get some paper. Andy chewed her lip, thinking. She realized as soon as she saw the sheets that this was obviously something illegal; she had to find a way to record it.

He returned and she quickly did the math. She handed the papers to him. He looked them over and then smiled. "You're a keeper." He folded the papers and then called "Kathy!"

A petite woman entered the room. "Find out Leslie's size. She is going to be staying for a while and she needs to have clothing for the duration of her stay." He left.

Kathy rolled her eyes. "Ignore him. I'm Kathy, Jake's girlfriend."

Andy nodded. "Leslie. What did he mean?"

"He? Oh, you mean Matt. You really have to refer to them by name since there are three of them. It means you'll be staying for a while even though all of the other guests will be moving on. Three pairs of jeans, six or seven tops, pajamas and undergarments should be enough. I'll need your size."

As Andy gave Kathy her size, she tried to piece together all of the information. _What does she mean by 'move on'? And where have I heard the names Jake and Matt linked together before?_ She was brought back to focus when Kathy asked about pajamas. She realized it might be a while before she could escape so she said "black men's hanes t-shirts". At least she would have something to remind her of her family.

Kathy left, to return later with food. Kathy was not a big talker and Andy stayed quiet. She missed her family. In this windowless room, she had no idea what time it was (her watch was obviously missing, and her cell phone was in her coat pocket at the bar, though they probably would have taken it and figured out who she was had it been on her), much less how long she had been gone for. She wondered how Sam, her girls, and her father were coping. She wondered what Sam had told the girls (well, really just Lissy since Serena was too young to understand) as an explanation to her absence.

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><p>It was only much later, when she was curled up in the bed attempting to sleep, that she remembered why the names Jake and Matt sounded familiar. Jake, Matt, and Mike Granger were the heads of the Granger Gang. One guy from Guns and Gangs called them the 'Harry Potter Gang' because of Hermione Granger. She remembered exactly when she had heard about them.<p>

_Flashback_

_She only had a few weeks left of maternity leave left but she was itching to get back to work. She loved Serena but just wanted to go back to the station, even if it meant being on desk for a while._

_It was a nice day so she had taken the baby jogger out and jogged to 15th division. Sam happened to be at the station (he was on desk and thrilled at the distraction) and took Serena while she visited with everyone else before taking her out to a local diner for lunch._

_As Sam brought napkins to the table (they decided to eat outside), Jess Erico approached the diner. Her eyes lit up when she saw Sam. "Mind if I join you two for a few minutes?"_

_Andy smiled. "No problem. Why don't you get your food first." As Jess walked into the diner to order, Andy looked at Sam. Jess had taken over Guns and Gangs after the whole Boyd fiasco and she had totally turned the department around, for the better according to Sam.  
><em>

_Jess ordered and then sat down, offering her congratulations on Serena's birth. Andy thanked her and then gave a slight nod._

_Jess looked at Sam and then lowered her voice. "I want to know your opinion about the Granger Gang."_

_Sam raised an eyebrow. "They deal guns, right?"_

"_Guns and we suspect a human trafficking ring as well. We can get undercovers in but the Grangers are always able to make them before they can get any real information. The Granger men never hurt the undercovers, they just take them aside and tell them their real name, division and badge number and tell them to leave."_

_Sam's eyes widened. "So why do you want my opinion?"_

"_Because I still want you to join Guns and Gangs and I'm going to keep at it until you agree."_

_Sam shook his head. "Not right now." He liked working with Andy and he loved working the streets. He knew as the girls got older priorities would change but he was happy on the streets._

"_Fine. You were a great undercover and I want to know what you think about sending someone else in." To her, 'not right now' meant that he would eventually join.  
><em>

"_Honestly Jess, I don't think it is a good idea. Go for the buyers right now and maybe you will be able to work a man in through that channel."_

_End Flashback_

Andy sighed. It might have been better for her if she had been sold – the likelihood of that at this point was slim to none. Had she been sold, she would have been able to make her way back to her family. Tears began to fall and eventually she cried herself to sleep. She dreamed about the song she sang to Lissy right before she left, the same song her mother sang to her when she was younger. Unlike her mother, she had not willingly abandoned her family and she would fight to make her way back to them; she would never forget them.

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><p>A.N. Reviews make my day so let me know what you think. The next chapter (or two) should be out at some point this week - reviews encourage me to edit faster.<p> 


	4. Chapter 3: Creating a Plan

Disclaimer: Don't own Rookie Blue.

A.N. Thanks for the reviews/alerts/favorites. This is a shorter chapter...sorry but this is the 'gap time' to get to where I need to be. The next chapter is where things really start moving.

Enjoy!

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><p>Chapter 3 – Creating a Plan:<p>

A long time passed. Andy didn't know how long it had been since in the beginning they woke her at random times to purposely throw her mental clock out of wack.

She had developed a system to keep track of their accounting numbers, especially the money they had her bury. After a few weeks, they stopped watching her when she worked on the books. They left her in her room while she worked and since she had requested a lot of scrap paper, they never noticed when every once in a while a sheet went missing.

When she awoke after she cried herself to sleep on her first night in captivity, she had realized that she had her pocket knife with her. Her father had taught her how to create a false bottom drawer. She had spent some time in the bathroom and after searching carefully to make sure there were no cameras, she had created a false bottom in one of the drawers. Once they stopped watching her, she filled the stolen pieces of paper with miniscule writing and recorded everything she wrote in their accounting books. Her only issue was that Matt would hand her sheets saying "day one" "day two" so she didn't know the actual dates of the transactions. She knew that when she finished Matt would go back and add the dates but that didn't help her. Eventually she had searched her entire room and knew there were no cameras but she kept the documents in the bathroom since she knew they would never check her bathroom, even if they did suddenly decide to search her room.

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><p>A while after her arrival (she hated the fact that she couldn't say exactly how long), Kathy disappeared. If she had to guess, Jake got bored of her and they sold her. It was only after a few days of Kathy not appearing that she realized Kathy must have done all of the cooking.<p>

After a week of takeout, when Mike brought Andy her lunch, a deli sandwich, she sighed. She had been waiting for Mike. Matt was the brains, Jake was just dumb, but Mike was the compassionate one.

"What's wrong Leslie?"

"You know what I miss about home? My kitchen. I miss cooking and baking."

"You cook?"

She nodded and he left. When she was sure he was gone, she smiled, knowing she had won.

Sure enough, two days later, Matt informed her that in addition to bookkeeping, she was in charge of meals.

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><p>Andy knew she had to go slowly, as much as it killed her. Matt had video cameras everywhere around the house (which was why she was surprised there were none in her bedroomprison) and one misstep meant her girls would never have their Mommy back and they would probably never find out what happened to her.

About a month after her "promotion", Matt came into the kitchen to talk to her. "What do you know about cooking a nice meal for a large group of people?"

She had done it, a handful of times, but it had always been with Sam, Sarah, or her father. "I think I can. When is it for?"

"Next week."

Andy grabbed a sheet of paper and began writing. "Why don't we do a trial run, on a small scale, this week? A nice dinner will take me a few days to prepare."

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><p>Her meal was a success and now when they had 'business' meetings, she always did the cooking. The dealers enjoyed it, she heard murmurings that the food was much better than anyone else, and business picked up. It made the brothers act kinder towards Andy, after all, she was the reason for part of their success. It killed her inside, that more people were being sold because of her actions but she had to get home somehow.<p>

She still couldn't think of an escape route but she trusted her gut and knew she was headed in the right direction.

During her fourteenth 'gourmet dinner' preparations, an idea popped into her mind. Each time she prepared a meal, she changed at least one dish. Her new dish choice for this meal was a pasta salad (thankfully she had memorized all of the recipes she liked). The last time she had made the dish was with Sarah for Thanksgiving dinner before she was kidnapped. She remembered that they had tried a new recipe for a side dish which called for some obscure spice that neither could pronounce. They couldn't find it in the store and ended up turning to Sarah's best friend – Google – to find a substitute. She would make that dish for the next big meal and for now, she would find little things to complain about.

Three weeks later, she caught her lucky break. Another dinner was to be held. Tom, a trusted friend, was their driver and shopper. He was getting tired of her complaints.

"Matt, I don't know what this is. She keeps complaining about the quality of the fruits and vegetables. She's driving me crazy. Just let me take her with me already!"

Andy overheard their heated argument from her spot in the kitchen and smiled to herself as she continued to clean the counter-top.

Fifteen minutes later, Matt walked into the kitchen. "Hold out your hand." Andy complied and he snapped a bracelet onto her wrist and then locked it. "Tom's taking you shopping with him. Bracelet's a tracker. You try to run, I'll find you. You and anyone you are with will be dead men walking. It'll come off when you get back."

Andy nodded.

* * *

><p>So here she was, sitting in the car with Tom.<p>

When they got to the supermarket, Tom split the list. He finished his list before she had gotten through a third of her list.

He moved in behind her and watched her for a few minutes before he invaded her personal space. "Tell me you're doing this on purpose and I'll be a happy man Leslie."

Without looking back Andy murmured, "you mean going slow on purpose so next time I can do all of the shopping while you stay outside and smoke with your buddies?"

"I could kiss you right now."

"Please don't."

He stayed with her but stayed quiet, knowing why she was going so slowly. The only time he spoke was in the spice aisle. "That's not what you wrote down."

"I know" she snapped. "They don't have what I need so I'm getting something else as a substitute."

When they reached the checkout, Tom helped her unload the cart. As the cashier began to ring their order, Andy turned to look at the screen. It was a habit, but what she saw made her freeze.

She saw the date. She had assumed that her captivity was for less than a year. Not only was it over a year, it as closer to a year and a half.

"Leslie?" Tom touched her arm.

"Sorry, just spaced out for a second."

"We're done. Let's go."

They left the store and quickly loaded the car.

Once they were on the road, Tom spoke. He knew something was bothering her but he would let her keep her private business without prying, especially because she was giving him something that he wanted. "I go shopping once a week. Here's how it will work. I'll drop you off, give you enough time to shop, and then meet you by the checkout lines to pay. If I'm late, browse an aisle near the checkout lanes." He wasn't worried, she had the bracelet on.

"Okay" Andy said softly. She watched the scenery fly by as she thought about how to proceed. All she knew was that she was so close, she had to get back to her family. She had promised Lissy that she 'always came back' and she would do everything in her power not to break her promise.

* * *

><p>A.N. Uhoh...Andy's gotta come up with a plan, and fast. I know it is a long time, but I did it on purpose. Andy knew it had to be around a year, its not like she was cooking gourmet meals every week.<p>

A.N.2 Reviews make my day and who knows, maybe I'll be inspired to finish editing the next chapter over the weekend.


	5. Chapter 4: Acting Out the Plan

Disclaimer: Don't own Rookie Blue.

A.N. Thanks for all the reviews! To everyone who mentioned it, as I said in the first chapter, I wrote the first few chapters before season 2 ended and the further into the story, the longer the chapters get because it was requested.

Also, just to clarify, even though I think y'all will figure it out by the end of the chapter, Andy is not in 15th Division's territory.

Enjoy!

* * *

><p>Chapter 4 – Acting out the Plan:<p>

A few weeks passed. Andy slowly learned the layout of the store and began to work out a plan in her mind. She finally saw a possible way to get out and threw herself into planning, obsessively. Thankfully, the Granger men didn't notice her change in attitude since they were busy with their 'business'. She knew she only had one chance to get her plan right.

Finally, after five weeks of plotting, she heard "Stuck in the middle with you" on the radio in the store as she and Tom waited on the checkout line. It was the push she needed as she remembered her conversation with Sam the night she went to his cover apartment during karaoke night. She gathered her courage and firmly told herself "next week, no backing out".

The next week, she went through the produce section quicker than normal and then headed towards the bathrooms in the back of the store. She looked around to make sure no one was watching and then darted into the hallway.

In between the ladies room and the mens room was her goal, two payphones.

No one was about. With trembling fingers, she dialed the only number she knew would go through without money and began to pray that her plan worked.

"9-1-1, what is your emergency?"

"I need you to patch me through to Guns and Gangs."

"Excuse me? !"

Andy sighed. At least the woman didn't hang up on her. She bit her lip and began her lie, the one she had been practicing for a while, hoping the woman would buy it. She was much better at lying when a person didn't see her face. "Look, I'm undercover for them. My targets suspected me so they took away my phone. I have no way to reach my unit to let them know when the deal is going down."

"Don't you have a number to call them on?" The operator wasn't buying it.

"My bosses took all of my money. I managed to slip away to get to a payphone. Look, if I'm killed, they know this store is close. They'll look into the phone records and you'll be fired." It was a blatant lie but 9-1-1 calls were always recorded.

"Fine! Anyone specific?" It was a busy day, her phone was flashing with another call coming in. Let Guns and Gangs deal with this crazy lady.

"No. Just patch me through." This was wasting precious time and besides, she had no idea who still worked for Guns and Gangs.

There was a beep and then Andy heard someone pick up. "This is Diaz."

"Chris?" she whispered.

"Andy? Andy, where the hell are you?"

"Chris, listen. I don't have a lot of time so you have to listen without interrupting or patch me through to someone who can do that."

"Okay. I've got it."

"Wait at least three weeks. Go to the Granger Gang's main house." He, or more likely Jess Erico, would know the location.

"Andy, you can't –"

"Chris, you promised not to interrupt. You have to wait at least three weeks or they'll suspect me and kill me. Also, you can't use 31st or 34th as your backup. Do you understand?"

"Yes. Andy, I have to tell Sam." Tears filled her eyes as he mentioned her husband.

"No! Promise me you won't."

"Andy!"

"Listen, I have to go. You can't tell him because he'll want to go in early and then I'll be killed. If something happens to me before you come, tell him I love him. Tell my girls I love them and tell my Dad that I love him. And tell them that I tried to come back and never forgot them." She sobbed the last line and hung up before Chris could say another word.

She slipped into the bathroom and washed her face. She had to erase the tear marks. She stared at herself in the mirror for a long minute, knowing that there was no going back now, before she returned to her shopping.

Tom was pacing frantically when she reached the checkout lanes. "Where were you?" he hissed.

"In the car" she whispered back.

They got on line and Tom paid for all of the groceries.

They loaded the car and got in. Before he even put the key in the ignition, he rounded on her. "What the hell Leslie? Where were you?"

She refused to look at him, afraid that he would see the lie on her face. She was so close to seeing those she loved again, to holding her babies close, that she wasn't going to let her facial expressions ruin her cover. "Almost ran into someone I knew. I ducked into the bathrooms so she wouldn't see me and make a scene."

Tom cursed under his breath and then they drove home in silence.

* * *

><p>Change was effective immediately. For 'her own safety', she would not be going shopping for the next two weeks and they would be changing the shopping day to one day earlier.<p>

Andy nodded and for the first time since she had been kidnapped, she slept through the night without waking up from a nightmare.

* * *

><p>Chris' POV:<p>

Chris Diaz sat down at his desk with a sigh. He hadn't slept well the night before but he had a feeling that something significant was going to happen at work or he would have just taken a sick day.

As he did every morning before he turned on his computer, he glanced at the picture next to it. Tommy McNally had snapped it on the day Sam and Andy brought Serena home from the hospital. No one had been looking at the camera. Andy was placing Serena into Lissy's waiting arms as she sat on the couch while Sam watched, all of them with huge smiles on their faces.

Next to that picture was a more recent picture of the two girls. Andy was missing her girls growing up.

He allowed his thoughts to wander to his friend for a second. Things had changed once she disappeared.

_Flashback_

_No one was surprised when Sam stopped showing up to work after the massive search for Andy was called off. _

_Each of her friends reacted differently when they realized that they could not find their friend._

_Based off of work for another case, Jess Erico had offered Chris a job with Guns and Gangs. He took it, knowing it would be better for him then to feel the deep sadness every time he looked at Andy' s desk._

_Traci had always been considering going for detective. Her friends had convinced her to stay a beat cop with them. After Andy disappeared, Traci threw herself into her studies and took the tests to become a detective and joined Jerry in the D's office._

_Dov was the one they were all worried about. In the end, Sue had pulled him out of his depression. He left 15th for ETF, not the same team as Sue. _

_Gail had been the one that surprised them. One day she just disappeared. It was two weeks before they found out that there had been an undercover swap and she had been shipped to Vancouver. _

_The girl from Vancouver brought down Anton Hill and returned to her division and her life in Vancouver. Since Gail wasn't back, people assumed that she was still undercover._

_End Flashback_

Chris knew better. He knew Gail. She probably liked the fact that she had nothing to prove in Vancouver and stayed.

He missed Andy but he was happy. Denise had come to Toronto and they tried again. Currently, they were engaged.

On the work-front, he was also happy. Jess Erico had taken over the leadership role of Guns and Gangs after Boyd's downfall. She and Chris worked well as a team. Many times they interviewed suspects as they had when he first met her. He had his blues in his locker and any time people saw him wearing them he knew it meant they would have an audience. Still, he didn't mind looking like the stupid rookie if it led to confessions or the answers they were looking for.

With a sigh, Chris pulled himself out of his thoughts and turned on his computer.

* * *

><p>It was late afternoon when his phone rang. He looked at his Caller I.D. and was puzzled. <em>Why would 9-1-1 be calling?<em> He figured it was probably a prank and since he was the lowest on the totem pole, he would end up taking care of the prank calls.

Still, just in case it was a test, he answered professionally. "This is Diaz."

"Chris?" It was a whisper but he almost dropped the phone in shock.

"Andy?" He asked it like a question as his mind caught up with what was happening. "Andy, where the hell are you?" He couldn't believe he was hearing her voice after all this time. Sam was probably the only person who believed she was still alive.

He quickly typed an email and fired it off as she answered. "Chris, listen. I don't have a lot of time so you have to listen without interrupting or patch me through to someone who can do that."

By the rushed way she said it, he realized how scared she was and quickly agreed. "Okay. I've got it." There was no way he was letting anyone else talk to her.

"Wait at least three weeks. Go to the Granger Gang's main house."

He knew he should just let her talk but he couldn't help himself. "Andy, you can't –"

She cut him off. "Chris, you promised not to interrupt. You have to wait at least three weeks or they'll suspect me and kill me. Also, you can't use 31st or 34th as your backup. Do you understand?"

He heard the desperation in her voice as he took notes on what she said. "Yes." He bit his lip and then plunged forward. "Andy, I have to tell Sam."

"No! Promise me you won't."

He didn't understand. Didn't she want Sam to know she was still alive? "Andy!"

"Listen, I have to go. You can't tell him because he'll want to go in early and then I'll be killed. If something happens to me before you come, tell him I love him. Tell my girls I love them and tell my Dad that I love him. And tell them that I tried to come back and never forgot them." He heard her sobbing.

"I will Andy." He listened but didn't hear anything. He slammed the phone into the cradle with a curse.

* * *

><p>A.N. Will Chris listen to her plea? What is he going to do with her information?<p>

For those of you who are going to ask - she couldn't call Sam and more information about her actions will be discussed in the next chapter...

Reviews make my day so let me know what you think.


	6. Chapter 5: Figuring out the Details

Disclaimer: Don't own Rookie Blue.

A.N. Thanks for the reviews! Next chapter will go to Sam's POV. Sorry that this chapter has no Sam or Andy in it but it is a necessary chapter told from Chris' point of view.

I realize that some people feel that Andy's plan was a little "cheap" but realize that she is on her own with no way to contact anyone. She has been gone for a year and a half and I chose for her to call Guns and Gangs and leave it in their hands because she trusts Jess. Asking for 15th could have worked but had she been patched through to Sam, it could have been disastrous because Sam would have wanted to go in guns blazing right away.

Enjoy!

* * *

><p>Chapter 5 – Figuring out the Details:<p>

"Diaz, my office now!" Jess Erico yelled. Chris was considered a 'church boy' and he rarely cursed. As soon as she heard him curse, she knew something had gone wrong.

Chris walked into her office and closed the door. "Sit Diaz" she ordered. He looked like he had seen a ghost.

Chris sat and she tried to figure out what was going on but his face was unreadable.

After a minute of silence she spoke. "Chris?"

He took a deep breath. "9-1-1 keeps voice records, right?"

"It was real?" Her eyes widened. She knew he had received an incoming 9-1-1 call. Every once in a while there was a prank call to 9-1-1 for them. If flooded, the dispatchers would just patch it through for the department to deal with. When the call came in, she automatically routed it to Chris - now she was questioning her choice.

Chris nodded.

She saw he still needed a minute so she made a quick phone call and then turned her phone on speaker:

"_9-1-1, what is your emergency?"_

"_I need you to patch me through to Guns and Gangs."_

"_Excuse me? !" _

_There was a sigh. "Look, I'm undercover for them. My targets suspected me so they took away my phone. I have no way to reach my unit to let them know when the deal is going down."_

"_Don't you have a number to call them on?" _

"_My bosses took all of my money. I managed to slip away to get to a payphone. Look, if I'm killed, they know this store is close. They'll look into the phone records and you'll be fired." _

_There was a pause. "Fine! Anyone specific?" _

"_No. Just patch me through."_

The voices cut off. Jess played part of it again, deep in thought. "Was that…" she trailed off, looking at Chris.

"Yeah." His phone chirped. He opened the text message. "We have a hit on the location of the call but she's probably not going to be there anymore and she said we need to lay low." He pushed his phone towards her and she saw the address.

Jess leaned back in her chair. "We have to call Sam."

"No." He looked at his boss's face. "She insisted."

Jess folded her arms. "I think you need to tell me about your conversation and then we're going to take a ride down to that location."

"But –"

"She'll be long gone by the time you finish telling me about your conversation and we drive there; I just want to see if they have surveillance because I want to be sure it is her."

Chris filled her in, knowing she was right. As much as it was Andy's voice, it could have been a trap. When he finished, Jess took a deep breath. "Granger Gang, huh. I'm really glad I caught the two of them together." When she saw Chris' face, she explained how she and Sam had discussed the Granger Gang when Andy was present. "It probably saved her life. I just wish she would have stayed on the line. I want to know who the mole is in both of those divisions. We've been trying to nab the Granger Gang since before I took over for Boyd." She sighed. "Okay. We have to deal with the facts that we have." She stood up and moved to the chair next to Chris after pulling out her iPad.

Chris raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"We need the facts that we have and I'm not risking Andy's life by using a board. I keep this on me at all times, I'm afraid to even write it on the computer. We need to do everything in our power to keep her safe. In fact, the fewer that know right now, the better."

Chris nodded and she handed him the iPad. He typed in his notes as she sent two quick texts.

When she finished, she took the iPad back and looked at his notes. "Good. While we're waiting for the other members of this team to finish up what they're working on so they can come here, we're going for that ride." She stood up and motioned for him to follow. "Just whatever you do, if she is still there for some reason, DO NOT try to talk to her."

* * *

><p>They stopped at the supermarket the call was placed from. Jess happened to know the manager from another case and found him quickly and quietly. She explained that they needed it to be kept quiet but they needed some security footage. With the flash of the badge, the manager led them to the back office.<p>

She asked the manager to leave and then she motioned for Chris to sit. She stood behind him as he began to scroll through the footage starting twenty minutes before the call.

Chris spotted Andy as soon as she walked into the store and pointed her out to Jess. "Zoom in."

Chris zoomed in and Jess took a picture.

"Why?" Chris asked.

"So I have proof for the superintendent. When we talk to her about the bust, she'll know this one really is about Andy." She also had it as a backup weapon for something else she had in mind but she didn't want Chris to have the time to think about it. "Zoom in more." She had him zoom in on her hand. "There. They have a tracker on her. It is the reason she hasn't run."

"But any division would be able to remove it."

Would she go to the division first?" Jess asked softly. Those trackers were expensive but powerful and the men would be able to retrace Andy's steps. She didn't want to mention it to Chris but if Andy happened to run to 31st or 34th, or the moles in those two divisions were not exposed, Andy's life would be in danger, as well as the lives of her family.

Chris realized that Jess was right and Andy probably forgot about going to a station first. She wouldn't risk putting her family in danger.

They watched the rest of the footage. Jess took another picture at the end. "Tom Hutton, huh. Granger Gang's right hand man." She shook her head. "C'mon Diaz. We're not going to get anything else. We have the information I was looking for. Time to meet the cavalry and bring them up to speed." She didn't know if Andy went with Tom all the time and they had never tracked Tom's movements before so she didn't bother to go back to previous footage. They knew Andy was being held by the Granger Gang and she wanted the takedown and rescue to be done at the Granger Gang's headquarters (meaning their private residence) so she would be able to nab the whole ring, not just get Andy back. Maybe it was selfish, but Andy had told Chris 'three weeks' and from the look of Tom's face from the end of the footage, she didn't know if Andy would be going shopping again any time soon.

* * *

><p>A man and woman were waiting for them in Jess's office, talking quietly. Without any words being exchanged, Jess walked to her desk and began to play the 9-1-1 call.<p>

After Andy spoke for the first time, the woman turned to Jess. "That was Andy."

Chris looked at her in shock. "How did you know right away?" It made sense for him, he was one of Andy's closest friends, but why would Jo Rosati know?

Jess paused the call and nodded at Jo. "Chris, look," she swallowed hard, "Andy and I started off on the wrong foot. After I left 15th, there was a case where 15th and 27th had to work together. You were off that day.

"Andy and I spoke for a while. I apologized and asked if we could start over. She's a good cop and we actually have a lot in common.

"A few months after Serena was born, Andy called me. She needed help. Her Dad was busy and she had gotten into a fight with Sam. She didn't want to call anyone from the division because she didn't want people to talk.

"Lissy wanted Andy's undivided attention so I held Serena for most of the afternoon. When Lissy fell asleep, we both collapsed on the couch.

"Sam woke me later and told me to go home. Two days later I was sent to Calgary. I never said goodbye." She whispered the last line, fighting tears.

"But you were there that night." Chris was really confused. He had been called to the scene and Jo had been the one to bring him up to speed on the case. He had gone out with Sam to search for Andy.

"I got back a few days earlier. Only my division knew because I had to finish up the paperwork but they told me I would be able to do that at home. I had planned to drop by to see Andy and the girls as soon as my paperwork was complete."

Chris nodded, satisfied with her explanation.

Jess stepped forward. "Chris, I don't think you've met Ben Smith. Ben, this is Chris Diaz." The men shook hands as Jess explained that Ben was on loan from Drug Squad. She didn't explain to Chris that the three of them had been rookies together and worked well together. Andy was one of their own and she knew that every division would help but Jo and Ben were the only people she trusted outside of her own division (with the possible exception of Sam but she wanted him to work for her) and she knew that they would keep quiet until the last second and then convince their divisions to give them manpower.

* * *

><p>For the next two weeks, the four of them hammered out the plan of action. It was simple, to the eye of someone who wasn't a cop, but in reality it was a complex labyrinth of interconnected parts.<p>

Finally, after two and a half weeks, Jess and Jo went to speak to Superintendent Peck. They spoke to her for hours and were given the green light to proceed. Andy said at least three weeks, they were aiming for three weeks and a day.

* * *

><p>A.N. Can't wait to see what their plan is! Next up...catching up Sam's POV until this point.<p>

Reviews make my day so let me know what you think.


	7. Chapter 6: Sam's POV

Disclaimer: Don't own Rookie Blue.

A.N. This chapter is Sam's POV from the day Andy disappears until the day of her phone call to Guns and Gangs. It is marked where the "day of the phone call" part begins since I didn't want to be mean and make two smaller chapters.

I really struggled with part of this chapter. There is another author's note at the end since I didn't want to ruin anything.

Enjoy!

* * *

><p>Chapter 6 – Sam's POV:<p>

The first day Andy was gone was extremely rough for Sam. After spending hours searching, he returned home as the sun began to rise to inform Tommy that they were not getting anywhere and that Andy was missing.

As Sam walked up the steps to his house, his heart began racing. As a cop, he had always tried to defer these types of notifications to the D's office. However, this was his father-in-law and his family. Still, he worried about what to tell Lissy (Serena was too young to understand).

Tommy met him at the front door with Serena in his arms. She had obviously only woken up a few minutes earlier and was curled into a ball until she saw Sam.

Serena immediately whimpered "uppy" and tried to reach out for her father.

Sam took her in his arms, dropping Andy's coat to the floor, and breathed in Serena's scent. She still smelled like the soap Andy had used the day before while giving her a bath.

"Sam?"

Sam looked at his father-in-law. "We can't find her" he said in a low voice. "The bust was a success but something went wrong. We know that others were taken with Andy but we can't even get names on that yet. Her coat was left at the bar, which means she was taken by force from the bar."

Tommy digested the news in silence for a minute. "So why are you home?" Only the fact that he had been out of the force for years stopped him from grabbing his gun and going to offer his services.

"You deserve to hear the news and to be updated from me. Jo told me to go home and spend some time with the girls. What am I going to tell Lissy?"

Tommy looked at him. "I don't know. I think I should keep her home from school today."

Sam nodded. Who knew what kids were going to say once the news broke.

Suddenly they heard a whimper of "Mommy" coming from the top of the stairs. Sam handed Serena back to Tommy and headed up the stairs.

* * *

><p>Sam opened the door gently and saw Lissy curled up on her bed. "You're not Mommy" she said with a frown. "I want Mommy."<p>

Sam walked into the room and sat down on the bed, pulling her onto his lap. "Lissy, sweetie..."

If you asked him ten minutes later what he told Lissy and how he broke the news to her, he would not have been able to answer the question.

All he remembered was her scooting away from him. He stood, kissing her forehead before leaving the room and telling Tommy to call him when Lissy wanted him. He then returned to the search.

* * *

><p>Two weeks after Andy disappeared, Sam woke to whimpering. He quickly went into the girls' room and found Lissy crying. Tommy had insisted that Sam start to stay home at night after the first week. Sam had been in and out of the house at crazy hours and it wasn't healthy for the girls. If the girls woke and couldn't have Andy, they needed Sam to be there.<p>

Sam pulled Lissy towards him gently and noticed that she was wet. Assuring her that accidents happen and it was okay, he changed her and brought her into his room.

As soon as he set her down on the bed, she grabbed Andy's tank top. Sam had never bothered to remove it from where Andy left it. His sleeping patterns were so eratic that he normally just collapsed in bed and was asleep before his head hit the pillow and he hadn't noticed it. Lissy clutched the tank top tightly and fell asleep.

The second night it happened, two nights later, raised red flags in Sam's mind. For the child who had not had a single night-time accident since her mother had trained her to suddenly have two accidents in three nights – something was off.

After a week of accidents, Sam was annoyed and concerned. "Lissy, Princess, if you need to go to the bathroom, come wake me up if you're scared."

* * *

><p>The next few weeks passed in a blur for Sam. Tommy was a silent supporter and stayed with the girls while Sam searched.<p>

One night, Sam came home and found Tommy reading a book on the couch. Tommy had virtually moved into the guest bedroom for the time being, since Sam was in and out at irregular hours. He had only put his foot down about Sam being home late at night in case the girls woke up. Tommy took one look at Sam before setting down his book and patting the couch. "The girls are asleep. Come sit for a minute."

Tommy watched his son-in-law step closer. Something was bothering Sam and Tommy was worried. He had never seen Sam like this and he had known Sam since Sam started his rookie year at 15th.

As soon as Sam sat, Tommy wrapped an arm around him. "You know its okay to cry" he said gently. He knew Sam was on the verge of falling apart and he wanted to let Sam know he was there for him.

At his words, Sam Swarek, the man who never cried, let the floodgates down. Tears streamed down his face as he whispered "Superintendent Peck called me into her office today."

"And…" Tommy prodded after Sam's silence lasted for more than a minute.

"They're leaving the case as unsolved. There are no new leads."

"Sam." Tommy couldn't say any more.

"I asked for early retirement and it was granted – with benefits. Between my pension and the monthly 'grievance' check since Andy disappeared while on the job, everything should be fine."

Tommy nodded. He understood where Sam was coming from; Sam didn't want to leave the girls with no parents.

"I have to ask you for a favor."

The change in topic was abrupt and Tommy raised an eyebrow before nodding at Sam to continue.

"You can say no." He took a deep breath. "The basement has a full bathroom and I would be able to install kitchen appliances in the second room. There is a door leading outside and I can place a door by the stairs to make it like a separate apartment. Would you consider moving in?"

Tommy was floored. Watching the girls while Sam searched was the only reason he hadn't hit the bottle again. Unlike Sam, he didn't believe that his daughter was still alive. "I don't need the kitchen Sam." He answered. Moving in and being with his family constantly would keep him from slipping. "But I want you to let me help you with expenses." Sam started to protest but he held up his hands. "When I eventually die, all of the money will go to the girls anyway. Let me help."

"Thank you" Sam whispered "for everything."

Tommy saw the exhaustion in Sam's face. "Lissy's already in your bed. Go kiss Serena and then try to sleep." He knew better than to mention food at this point.

* * *

><p>A few days later, Traci watched Serena while Lissy was at school and Sam and Tommy moved Tommy's belongings into the basement apartment. He convinced Sam to sell his car – they were two drivers and needed the minivan, the truck held more sentimental value. Sam balked in the beginning but then realized Tommy was right and sold Tommy's car.<p>

By this time, Lissy was no longer having accidents (something that Sam had shared with Tommy and Tommy was also concerned about). However, three to five nights a week, Lissy was climbing into her parents' bed to curl up next to her father while clutching her mother's tank-top like a lifeline.

* * *

><p>Officially Sam was retired but retained his license to carry a gun. Any time they thought they had a new lead on Andy's whereabouts, Sam would requalify for police standards and join them.<p>

* * *

><p><strong><em>Flash forward to the day of the phone call:<em>**

Sam closed his door and rounded the truck to let his daughter out. Today had been a trying day for him but Tommy was right, for the girls' sakes, he had to move on. Still, he couldn't help but think about Andy – and how she would have been annoyed at him had she known he took the truck when the minivan was available. She felt the girls were safer in the van.

As Sam grabbed Lissy's backpack and helped her climb down, he thought back to the conversation he and Tommy had the night before.

_Flashback_

"_I hate to interfere Sam, but they're using you."_

"_Using me?"_

"_Throwing Andy's name into every case just to make sure they have an extra set of hands they know they can rely on."_

_Sam was about to argue when he froze, thinking back. Tommy was right. They were using him. "But how can I say no? What if there really is a lead on her whereabouts?"_

_Tommy sighed. "Tell Peck that you've been neglecting things around the house and you'll be back 'on call' in a few months. For something real, I'm sure she will call you."_

_End Flashback_

Elaine Peck had not been happy but she understood. It forced Sam to realize that Tommy had been correct.

"Daddy?" Sam was pulled out of his thoughts by his daughter. He couldn't believe she was in grade one already. Tommy had pictures of Andy in grade one and Lissy was a spitting image of her mother.

"What's wrong Lissy?"

"Can I stay outside for a little?"

Sam nodded, understanding her request. While he understood, he was also saddened by it. He knew the reason for her request.

Every week Tommy and a bunch of his Academy buddies who were retired got together for a friendly game of poker. They played in pennies, so the pot always looked big but the most anyone ever lost was twenty dollars.

This week, it was Tommy's turn to host. Lissy hated it and would either stick close to her father (who sometimes joined the game) or her grandfather if she didn't hide in the playroom. It got to the point that if she didn't have school, Sam would arrange for her to have a play-date at a friend's house. Serena, on the other hand, made her rounds from one lap to the next and kept the men entertained with her laughter.

Watching both of his girls in the situation pained Sam. He remembered right before Serena was born. A pipe had burst in Tommy's apartment and Andy told Tommy to change the location instead of cancelling it since it was his turn to host. Sam had backed the idea since Andy was on partial bed rest and going crazy with boredom. Sam knew that Tommy and his friends would let her play and it would distract her.

He had walked in on a beautiful scene. Lissy was climbing off one lap and moving onto the next. All of the men were laughing at something funny that she said. As Sam continued to watch, she continued to move from lap to lap while entertaining the men.

It pained him that since Andy had disappeared Lissy had become quiet and withdrawn. She had been outgoing but when her mother disappeared, she began to act like she carried the weight of the world on her shoulders. Sam had tried to get her to talk to someone but she sat in the woman's office and ignored her. The only time she was okay was in school or playing with a friend, he couldn't even bring her to the station anymore.

"Daddy?"

Sam snapped out of his thoughts. "Sorry sweetie. Let's go sit on the porch swing."

Lissy ran up the stairs and was already seated when Sam sat next to her.

She immediately curled up next to him and Sam placed an arm around her, pulling her close. "You know, Mommy and I used to come out here with you when you were a baby."

"Really?" she perked up.

Sam smiled. Any mention of something about Andy that Lissy didn't know gave him a small glimpse of the daughter he knew before her mother disappeared. "Yep. For some reason, being outside calmed you down. Mommy would hold you and sit next to me and we would rock together until you fell asleep." He smiled slightly as he remembered how Andy used to curl up against him and half the time would fall asleep and he would carry them both inside.

"I miss her" Lissy whispered.

"I miss her too sweetie."

They stayed outside for a while, as Sam silently rocked them back and forth. His thoughts kept going back to Andy. After Lissy was born, they had the inevitable 'what if' conversation. Sarah was named guardian should anything happen to both of them. They had both agreed that should one of them get killed on the job, the other one should try to move on. Sam kept telling himself that they hadn't found a body so Andy was still alive. He felt it in his gut. In reality though, he knew that even if they did find a body, he would never be able to move on. Lissy was a spitting image of her mother and Sam thought of Andy every time he laid eyes on his daughter. It wasn't as if the girls didn't have a mother figure: between Zoe, Noelle, Traci, Denise, and Sue the girls had many women to turn to. They even had a 'Grandma' since Traci's mother and Tommy went to all events for the Nash/Barber and Swarek children together.

Eventually he glanced down at his watch. "I need to go make dinner and it's getting a little chilly." He stood up and she took his offered hand with a frown.

"Daddy. I don't –"

"Make you a deal" he interrupted her. "Come inside and I'll let you watch a video in my room and you can do your homework after dinner." Normally he had a strict policy about her homework but he was willing to let it slide this once for her comfort.

"A Mommy video?" she asked, her voice full of hope.

Sam nodded. Lissy loved watching the home videos which Sam had taken. She enjoyed the ones where Andy videoed if Andy spoke but she was more interested in watching her mother on the screen.

Sam set her up and they stayed for a few minutes until Serena wandered in. It snapped his attention away from the screen and he smiled at the sight of his two daughters watching their mother on the screen. He descended the stairs, knowing exactly what he was going to do once his girls were asleep.

It was a long while before the girls were in bed and he was able to tell Tommy how his meeting went at headquarters. He informed Tommy that he had a list of things that needed to be taken care of around the house and Tommy should feel free to add to the list. He also informed his father-in-law that he would now take Serena with him every morning so Tommy could extend his morning walks.

Sam was about to head up the stairs when Tommy spoke. "She'd be okay with it, you know."

Sam froze. "Okay with what?" he asked without turning.

"The video. You watch it every time the girls ask for a 'Mommy video'. She knew you ignored her."

_Flashback_

_Andy was eight months pregnant. Sam had gotten out of shift early and found his wife relaxing in the tub while singing and talking to their baby. Sam snagged the video camera and recorded for a few minutes before Andy noticed him and yelled at him to destroy the video._

_End Flashback_

"How?"

"A few days after Lissy was born you had to go to court. I stayed with her and she told me about the video. Here are her words Sam, which I think you need to hear. She said that she was okay with it because…quote 'if something happens to me, he'll watch it and remember how much I loved her before she was even born. He'll remember to love her and to give her my love also'." Tommy paused. "The girls are lucky to have you Sam."

He left his son-in-law to process his words.

* * *

><p>Over the next three weeks, Sam took care of many household problems that he had let slide. As he crossed each item off of the list, he couldn't help but think of how Andy would have made the list months earlier and pestered him until he completed the task. Each item on the list was at least over four months overdue.<p>

* * *

><p>A.N. I know people want to know what Sam actually said to Lissy and there are a few reasons that I did not include it. One is that situations like this, there are times where you really don't remember what you said. Two is that I felt the situation was heartbreaking and when I wrote the scene I didn't capture it correctly. I wanted to get this chapter out so if I come up with any better ideas or if someone has an idea that I like, it will be included later on in the story. The third reason is that I spent the weekend with my cousins and she has a three year old and five year old. Based on some of the things we talked about, it made me realize that children really don't understand (they told her that "Grandma got dead") and I didn't want to lead people to think that children understand the concept better than they really do.<p>

Reviews make my day - next up...will Sam be part of the takedown team?


	8. Chapter 7: The Day Before

Disclaimer: Don't own Rookie Blue.

A.N. Thanks for the reviews! This one is dedicated to everyone on Two Worlds Collide - you guys know why!

Next chapter is going to be the actual takedown (I think)...this chapter Chris has his work cut out for him.

I meant to have this out earlier today but there were some wackos at the library - sorry!

Enjoy!

* * *

><p>Chapter 7 – The Day Before:<p>

Sam was sitting at the kitchen table with Lissy. Three weeks earlier he had told Superintendent Peck that he was done and he was actually happier. He spent a lot more time with his girls, including homework every night with Lissy. Before he had spoken to Superintendent Peck, there were weeks when Tommy did homework with her the entire week. It wasn't like she actually needed help; she just wanted her father to sit with her. He kept one ear out for Serena as she played with her dolls in the playroom. Tommy was out at his poker game and Sam was going to make the girls deli sandwiches for dinner so he didn't have anything to prepare. He realized that even when he told Superintendent Peck that he was willing to work on busts, he was going to make conditions - Lissy deserved his undivided attention every night.

Lissy was halfway through her work when the doorbell rang.

"Door!" Serena shrieked.

Sam grabbed her and called over his shoulder for Lissy to keep working before opening the door.

"Unca 'Ris!" Serena called happily and stretched out her hands to him. "Uppy."

Sam passed his daughter over and said "what can I do for you Chris?"

"I need your help tomorrow."

"No."

"But –"

"I'm done Chris."

"Uncle Chris!"

Sam turned and saw Lissy coming towards them. "Homework finished and put away?" When she shook her head no he sighed. "Then give Uncle Chris a hug and go finish your work." He needed a minute and she was a welcome distraction.

Chris set Serena down and hugged Lissy. He waited until both girls were out of earshot (Serena returning to her dolls and Lissy returning to finish her homework) before speaking. "You know what Andy once told me?" He waited for Sam to look at him. "She said that if someone ever asked her for one piece of advice for a rookie she would go with what you told her: 'trust your gut'. My gut is telling me that you should be there tomorrow." He shifted nervously. Jess had told him to call if Sam continuously said 'no'. He read between the lines and realized that she didn't want to show him the picture - because he would probably want to go in right away - but would if it was the only way to convince him.

Sam sighed. Serena came back and held up her arms. Sam lifted her and then her close. She seemed to sense that Sam needed the comfort of one of his children. "Fine. But I don't know when you expect me to requalify. I haven't done it in a few weeks and Tommy's out."

Chris smiled as Lissy came back into the hallway. He lifted her up and swung her around, causing her to smile. "I'm done for the day and Denise hasn't seen the girls in fifteen days. She told me when I called to inform you that it has been two weeks too many. She's cooking for them." He smiled as he swung Lissy again, hopefully Sam would agree and within twenty-four hours Lissy's smile would remain on her face permanently instead of only making guest appearances.

Sam sighed again. "You have it all planned out, don't you. Fine."

Chris hid his smile as Sam turned off all of the lights and grabbed the keys to the minivan. Sam buckled the girls in and told them to be good and he would see them soon. They were excited to see Denise and ignored him as they talked about what they would tell Denise when they got to see her.

Chris handed Sam the keys to his car. "Go to 27th. Jo's waiting for you."

Sam hid his surprise. He was grateful that Chris had arranged for him to go somewhere other than 15th but to his knowledge, all of Andy's rookie friends hated Jo. Andy didn't, after their talk the two women were friends, but he was curious as to when Chris' attitude about Jo changed.

* * *

><p>When he reached 27th division, he flashed his badge and asked for Jo. He was shown to her office.<p>

Jo was on the phone when he stepped in and she motioned for him to have a seat. Instead of sitting, Sam glanced around. He looked at her desk and immediately began comparing it to Jerry's desk. Unlike the clutter he usually saw on Jerry's desk, Jo's desk was extremely organized. He knew it meant she was not in the middle of a case because when she was in the middle of a case, her desk was always ten times worse than Jerry's desk. She had called it an 'organized mess' and always knew where everything was but everyone else struggled to find things on her desk.

His eyes fell on a photograph. Puzzled, he picked up the picture frame to examine the photo.

"Sorry about that. Oh!"

Sam turned to Jo and held out the picture. "How did you get this?" It was a picture of his girls, all three of them, asleep on the couch. He had never seen the picture before.

Jo took the photograph from him and stared at it for a long moment. "I took it that day Andy called me because you two got into a fight and she didn't want anyone from 15th to know. I was going to give you guys a copy when I got back from Calgary but when everything happened…" She trailed off and reached into her desk. "Here is the copy. I keep it on my desk for inspiration that love really does exist and we'll find Andy because she loves you and the girls too much not to be okay and fighting her way back."

Sam pocketed the picture and they headed to the range while his mind processed Jo's words. They had not really spoken since that first night but it was nice to know that someone else believed that Andy was still alive.

After scoring perfectly, he turned to Jo. "So, who're they after?"

Jo cursed. "Diaz really kept quiet. I owe Jess money. Guess I shoulda listened when she said Chris would stay quiet."

"Jo?" He now figured out that Chris had spoken to Jo because Jess was involved. He remembered that Jess and Jo went to the academy together and both worked out of 27th until they became detectives.

"Sam, I can't tell you. There is a snitch high up so almost no one knows. Chris will call you tomorrow with a time and place."

"So secretive?" They had reached Chris's car.

"I trust you Sam but this is possibly Andy's life we're talking about and I'm not risking it in case someone is listening. You'll find out tomorrow. Have a good night." She had already said to much so she quickly turned and walked back into the station.

* * *

><p>It was a little later than he normally put them to bed by the time he got the girls home. They had a great time with Chris and Denise so he stayed to talk to Chris for a little while as Denise played with the girls. He tried to get something out of Chris but Chris was really tight lipped. Instead, Chris changed the subject to his wedding and asked Sam if the girls could be flower girls. Sam agreed and talk turned to other happenings at Guns and Gangs and 15th division until Sam looked at his watch and realized it was almost bed time. The entire ride home, the girls begged him to go back soon to play with Denise. Sam knew he would be talking to Chris, Denise was able to bring the old Lissy, the sweet little girl before her mother disappeared, back for a while.<p>

He quickly bathed Serena and she fell asleep as he changed her into her pajamas. Lissy showered while he tucked Serena in. When she finished, he tucked her in. She fell asleep as he read her a story.

He kissed her forehead and then headed downstairs. Denise had packed a container of food for him when he said he wanted to get the girls home and she realized that he had not eaten while he talked to Chris.

He met Tommy letting himself into the house. "Girls asleep?"

Sam nodded and Tommy headed up the stairs to give each one a kiss and wish them goodnight.

When he descended, Sam was sitting on the couch, waiting for him, food forgotten.

"I betrayed your trust," Sam whispered, looking at the ground.

"How?" Tommy asked as he sat down next to Sam.

"Chris came over. He threw in stuff about Andy and 'trust your gut' and I caved. I agreed to help with a bust tomorrow."

"Sam, you didn't break my trust." Sam looked up and Tommy held up his hand to stop Sam from talking. "Headquarters was taking advantage of you. Andy's friends wouldn't put you through that pain of false hope on purpose. Trust Chris just as you would trust Frank, Noelle, Oliver, Jerry, or even Luke."

Sam nodded. Tommy was right. "Jo also mentioned Andy. They won't tell me anything else though. I don't even know a time because supposedly someone high up is on the take so everyone was sworn to secrecy."

Tommy nodded. It had happened once when he was a cop. He didn't question the mention of Jo's name even though he wanted to. "I'll be here all day. As soon as you get the call, I'll make sure to silence all the ringers and keep all of the radios and TVs off as always. As I told you the first day, good news or bad, I want to hear it directly from you."

Sam nodded. "Thank you."

"Sam, you're exhausted. Eat and then go to bed. I'll straighten up." Tommy realized how exhausted Sam was when Sam didn't argue with him.

* * *

><p>Sam woke two hours after his head hit the pillow when a soft voice called "Daddy?"<p>

He opened his eyes slowly, confused. Lately Lissy hadn't been waking him, he would find her next to him, clutching Andy's tank top like a lifeline, when he woke in the morning. "What's wrong?" he asked sleepily as she crawled in next to him.

"Serena's crying. I tried to sing her Mommy's song but it didn't work."

Sam sat up. He wondered why he didn't hear anything and then he remembered. He had been working in the girls' room to fix a few loose picture frames and had moved the dresser. He had accidentally knocked the monitor out of the wall and forgot to plug it back in.

He climbed out of bed and walked into the girls' room, quickly lifting Serena out of her crib.

He took her into the nursery and rocked her back to sleep while whispering comforting words. Only when she whispered "Mommy song" did tears begin to form in his eyes. He needed Andy, the girls needed Andy. He sang the song softly to her and by the end of the second repetition, her eyes began to flutter.

When she was asleep, he realized that he wanted his girls close. He had no idea what the bust was going to bring and all of the secrecy made him nervous. Lissy was already in his bed and he just brought Serena with him. He hoped that all of the subtle hints meant that the song would ring true for his girls and that by the time the bust was over, their Mommy would be back just as she had promised Lissy before she left home.

* * *

><p>A.N. Next up is the bust...<p>

Reviews make my day so let me know what you think (and you never know...it might motivate me to get the next chapter out before the weekend).


	9. Chapter 8: The Bust

Disclaimer: Don't own Rookie Blue.

A.N. This one flips between Sam's POV and Andy's POV - I think you'll be able to figure it out.

Thanks for the reviews - you guys are awesome!

Enjoy!

* * *

><p>Chapter 8 - The Bust:<p>

He woke the next morning with Serena snuggled against his chest and Lissy curled against his side with Andy's tank top clutched in her hand. He smiled and gently lifted Serena off his chest. As soon as he got up, the girls snuggled against each other, still asleep.

Sam grabbed his camera and took a few pictures. He was trying to document their lives for when Andy eventually returned.

After the girls woke up and completed their morning routine, he took Lissy to school. Tommy stayed home with Serena. When Sam returned, Tommy took his daily walk but instead of going to a local park, Tommy continuously circled a three block radius.

It was after lunch, after he had put Serena down for her nap, when his phone rang. He didn't recognize the number. "Swarek."

"Sam, come to Guns and Gangs headquarters. Call me when you get here." Chris hung up before Sam could respond.

Sam descended the stairs to find Tommy silencing all of the ringers on the house phone.

"Thanks" Sam said softly. "Leave your cell phone on until you pick up Lissy. In case of an emergency, tell them I'm not available. Give her a kiss for me and tell her that I'm running some errands and I said she should do her homework with you."

Tommy nodded and Sam slipped out.

He called Chris when he was two blocks away and when he reached the building, Chris hurried out.

Chris climbed into the truck and told Sam to head to 27th division.

Sam drove in silence for two minutes and then looked at Chris. "Alright, spill."

"What do you know about the Granger Gang?"

Whatever he was expecting, it certainly wasn't that. "Last time I heard about them was when I spoke to Jess while Andy was on maternity leave. Human trafficking and guns. They're always one step ahead of us and it has been impossible to get an undercover in who lasts more than a month." He stopped at a red light. "Did they sell her?" he whispered in horror.

"No. Had they sold her we would have found her already. Since we can't access them, we've been working another angle, catching their buyers and giving deals if they help us. A few months back we got a discarded girlfriend. I wasn't on the case or I would have picked it up right away." He stopped, remembering the yelling match between himself and Jess after he found out the information. Truthfully, it was better that he didn't know - had they gone in with 31st or 34th, they would not have found Andy.

"Picked up what?"

"The woman went on and one about the new secretary they were keeping, a woman by the name of Leslie Atkins." He watched Sam's reaction.

Sam's fingers flexed on the steering wheel. "Leslie's dead Chris. You can't mention the guy who got shot in the pecker without Andy tearing up." He pulled up to 27th's building. "Wait…you think?"

Someone tapped on Chris's window before Chris could answer. He rolled down the window and handed Jess Erico a plastic bag with his cell phone in it.

"We're all here. Sam, cell phone off" she said quietly. "Follow my lead."

Sam's truck was the fourth car. He was confused. After a minute, he prompted Chris to continue. "Why 27th, not 31st or 34th?"

"We found out that there may be a snitch in both of those divisions. That would also be why we never found Andy even though we've raided their place twice since she's gone missing."

"You got someone in?" Sam was shocked. They had to have gotten someone in to find out that information and getting someone in was pretty hard.

Chris stayed silent. Sam realized Chris couldn't talk about it so he switched topics. "Why did you give Jess your cell phone?"

"We want to keep everything off the air. That is why there are no cruisers. No radios. Every person here is a volunteer and agreed to go in without knowing the full story. We fed false information through 34th that we are planning a bust for next week. Jess has the Guns and Gangs cell phones. Jo has 27th's cell phones and Ben has Drug Squad's cell phones."

"Ben? As in Ben Smith? You have Drug Squad in on this?"

"Yes to both. When it is one of our own we want the best of the best."

Sam sighed. He would have asked more questions – such as why they fed false information to the entire division – and he wanted to try to surprise Chris to get more information about Andy but they had reached their destination. They got out of the truck and walked over to Jess.

Jess waited until everyone was out of the cars before knocking on the door.

Matt answered the door. "Detectives, what can I do for you?" He had a smirk on his face.

Jess rolled her eyes. "We have a search warrant, so if you could be so kind as to take us to your brothers so someone can keep an eye on you while we search."

"You won't find anything" Matt said as he led them to the kitchen.

* * *

><p>She was preparing a salad for dinner and trying not to freak out.<p>

Jake was watching TV and Mike pretended to watch as well but in reality, he was watching her. Every time she glanced at them, she was pulled into a memory from the day before.

_Flashback_

_She was sweeping up in the kitchen when she heard them talking in the next room._

"…_be a raid next week. If we hold off two weeks, we'll be fine; we just sold our last shipment. We'll start moving the documents tomorrow."_

"_What about Leslie?"_

"_Right. Don't want the cops to see her. The other times we just spiked her food and then moved her but that's going to be harder since she does all of the cooking."_

"_What about sending her with Tom to Montreal?"_

"_Why would we do that Mike?"_

"_Sometimes I think Mom must have dropped you too many times as a baby Jake."_

"_Cool it! Both of you. I like the idea. We'll tell her that she deserves a break and Tom is taking her clothing shopping in Montreal. As long as she has that bracelet on, she won't do anything stupid."_

_Andy moved away from the door before they could catch her, fighting back tears. She knew Chris wasn't at fault, it was probably his superiors, but she wanted out worse than ever and it looked like the chance was going to slip through her fingers._

_End Flashback_

Someone scored and Jake cheered, pulling her from her memory to catch Mike rolling his eyes and muttering something about a rerun.

There was a knock on the door. They heard Matt call "I've got it" and Andy turned back to dicing the tomatoes.

Besides for the knife and the TV, the house was silent as they waited for Matt to amble in and tell them who was at the door.

Andy finished with the tomatoes and realized she forgot to take out the pickles. She walked to the refrigerator, feeling Mike's eyes on her back. As she rummaged around, she heard Matt say "see".

She turned, pickle jar in both hand, and knocked the refrigerator door closed with her hip. As she turned, she froze, momentarily forgetting how to breathe.

Shocked by the scene before her, her hands suddenly went numb and the pickle jar fell from her hands, shattering into thousands of pieces as it hit the floor.

* * *

><p>Everything seemed to happen at once.<p>

Sam was at her side instantly, lifting her onto the counter-top as guns were pointed at the three brothers. In a deadly voice Jess informed them "you're under arrest for the kidnapping and holding of Officer Andy McNally."

Andy didn't see them being cuffed, Sam had pulled her into a tight hug.

As she wrapped her legs around him to pulled him even closer, she realized she was barefoot and Sam was probably afraid that she would step on glass.

Sam shifted and kissed her forehead gently before looking into her eyes. "Let's get you shoes and then let's go home."

He lifted her up, noting how much weight she had lost, and carried her away from the glass before setting her down. Still, he kept an arm around her waist, hugging her close.

They reached the main hallway when Chris stopped them. "We're loading them into squad cars now but we need –"

"Can you give us a few minutes?" Andy cut him off.

Chris nodded.

"Chris, in the file cabinet, pull all the files out. It is stuffed but there is a lock box under a bunch of them." She led Sam down another hallway before Chris could answer. At the end of the hallway was a staircase. She took him down the stairs and pushed open the first door.

Sam stepped in behind her and she closed the door, giving them some privacy.

As Sam stood in shock and looked around the room, Andy headed to a spot near the foot of the bed where a pile of blankets sat. She curled up on the blankets and waited for him.

When Sam's eyes rested on her, a small smile appeared on his lips as he was reminded of their second night together when he was undercover to get Jamie Brennan.

Andy saw his smile and spoke. "First thing I do every morning and the last thing I do every night before I go to bed is to sit like this for a few minutes to remember everything that has happened since that moment."

Sam walked over to her and got down on his knees. He looked at her; even upside down she was beautiful. He whispered "I love you" and then kissed her.

It was too soon for either of them before someone knocked on the door. Sam broke the kiss and Andy jumped up, grabbing something from the dresser. "I'll be right back" she whispered before disappearing into another room. He assumed it was the bathroom.

Sam opened the main door and found Chris, Jess, Jo, and Ben on the other side. "She'll be out in a minute."

Jess nodded. "Listen Sam, it's getting late. I might be able to convince Peck to hold off the press conference until tomorrow."

"Please" Sam whispered. "Tonight should be about her and the girls with no distractions."

Everyone nodded. Chris spoke. "Sam, I'm sorry about not telling you."

Sam shook his head. "Andy's back, that's all that matters. Speaking of…" he trailed off as he moved to the bathroom door.

Chris grabbed his arm to stop him. "Maybe someone else should knock." At Sam's nod, he moved to the bathroom door and rapped on it. "Andy? You okay?"

The door opened and Sam's breath caught in his throat. She looked stunning.

Andy squirmed uncomfortably as they all stared at her. "I swore that if I would walk out of here, I would do it in my own clothes so I saved these" she whispered.

Sam realized she was wearing the same clothes as the last time he had seen her and they were a little big on her - showing just how much weight she had lost. He reached out and pulled her close. "It's okay sweetheart" he said softly.

Andy snuggled into his embrace for a second before pulling away. She looked at Jess. "Here's the information but I don't have the dates." She handed Jess a handful of papers. "The real documents are in the house somewhere, I told Chris one place where they might be but I know they haven't hidden them off premises yet since they thought you weren't coming until next week."

Jess took the papers. Jo and Ben looked over her shoulder as she unfolded them and swore. "You sure? This implicates a staff sergeant and a high ranking detective."

Andy nodded. "Their notes don't lie. They didn't know who I was and had no reason to change the names."

Jess sighed. "Thank you. Sam, we don't need either of you right now. I know there are two little girls who would love to see their mother. Take her home and we'll be in touch tomorrow."

Sam nodded and led Andy out.

* * *

><p>When she saw the truck, her face lit up in a grin. Sam smiled and helped her up before going to the driver's side.<p>

As he pulled away, she glanced at the back seat. "Please tell me you don't take them in the truck."

Sam realized she had noticed the car seats. "For the most part I don't." He couldn't hold back any longer. He pulled over, three blocks from the scene, and parked the car. "Andy" he whispered. As he flipped the console, she unbuckled her seatbelt and her lips met his.

Eventually the need for air became too great and Sam pulled away slightly. "I really missed you" he whispered.

Andy bit her lip and pushed away from his so she could study his face. "You lost weight" she stated, touching his cheek. She also saw the numerous worry lines that had not been present the last time she had seen him. "I'm sorry."

He took her hand and pulled it away from his face. "No. It wasn't your fault."

She looked down. He touched her fingers and then abruptly released her hand.

Startled, she looked up and found him removing a necklace that was previously hidden by his shirt. She recognized the necklace as her own, as well as the two rings hanging from it.

Sam took her hand and placed her engagement and wedding ring on her ring finger. "I kept them on me to remind me that you are always close to my heart."

She gave a soft smile as she flexed her fingers experimentally. Her smile turned into a frown as both rings began to slide.

She took the chain from Sam and slipped the engagement ring back onto the chain. He had gotten the chain for her when she was pregnant with Lissy. She placed the necklace around her neck and slipped her wedding ring onto her third finger. "Perfect" she exclaimed and then yawned.

Sam pulled her close once more and kissed her forehead. "It is. We need to get going and you should try to sleep."

"But Sam" she whispered, pouting.

"We're not going to get there any faster if you're awake. You're exhausted."

She glared at him for a second. He was right. She hadn't slept well in a while. "Fine." She buckled and then placed the shoulder restraint behind her back. She curled up with her head on Sam's leg.

Sam grinned and buckled his own seatbelt. He stroked her hair for a minute until her breathing evened out. Once he knew she was asleep, he pulled away.

* * *

><p>Sam was three blocks from home when he saw flashing lights behind him. Cursing his old division under his breath for pulling him over, he wasn't even speeding, he pulled onto a side street.<p>

As the person approached the truck, his eyes widened and he quickly rolled down his window. "Superintendent" he called softly in greeting.

"How is she Sam?" Elaine Peck asked as she reached the window. For all that everyone said about her, she did care about her officers.

"Tired but she'll be okay."

Elaine sighed. "I'm glad. Are you okay with pushing off the press conference?"

Sam nodded. "Tonight should be about Andy and the girls without any interruptions."

Elaine nodded. "I'm going to the scene now. I'm really impressed with how they managed to keep everything off the radar; not a stitch of press. It will make the two announcements tomorrow more interesting." She smiled. "Tell Andy welcome home from the Toronto Police Department and that her findings will be rewarded." She began to walk away.

"Superintendent" Sam called.

She came back. "What's wrong?"

Sam shook his head. "Nothing. Just, I know you don't like Diaz but they would not have found Andy if not for him."

Elaine Peck smiled; a real smile. "Thank you for the information. It's not that I don't like Chris, on the contrary in fact. I just knew he was not right for Gail and tried to drive him away from her. I will thank him. Good night Sam." She walked back to her SUV.

Sam waited until her driver pulled away before heading home.

When he reached the house, he glanced at Andy's still form before fronting into the driveway. Normally he always backed in but this way she would be closer to the front door.

He turned off the truck and walked to the passenger side with a smile on his face as he recalled the many trips to St. Catharines where she fell asleep on the way home. Only this time, he wasn't going to carry her to bed.

He opened the door and gently brushed her hair out of her eyes. "Hey sleepyhead, we're home."

Andy opened her eyes slowly as a smile spread across her face.

Sam cocked his head.

"Home. I love the sound of it" she whispered.

Sam helped her out of the truck.

She hesitated by the front door. "What if they hate me?" she whispered when Sam looked at her.

"Trust me, they don't." He opened the door and pulled her in.

After closing the door, he called "girls" and they heard two sets of feet. Tommy never followed; he knew Sam needed some time alone with the girls.

* * *

><p>A.N. I know it is mean but it was either end here, before she sees the girls, or not update until SundayMonday the earliest.

As for the placement of the engagement and wedding ring - various people have written various places and I know that it really depends on the country. After watching 2.04, I chose to go with the fourth finger since that is where Andy is wearing her engagement ring.

Reviews make my day so let me know what you think


	10. Chapter 9: Home with My Girls

Disclaimer: Don't own Rookie Blue.

A.N. The name of this story will be changing when it is complete from "Surprising Twist" to my original title of "She Always Comes Back". I didn't want to use the original title because it would have given away the entire story.

This chapter was totally rewritten from my original version because of an idea that popped up in my head that I just had to include - so if anything seems repetitive, I'm sorry, it means I didn't notice it when I rewrote it (because I copied and pasted).

Enjoy!

* * *

><p>Chapter 9 – Home with my Girls:<p>

Lissy froze in the hallway as soon as she saw them but Serena ran straight to Sam shrieking "Daddy!"

Sam bent to scoop her up. His motion was the reminder Andy needed. She knelt on one knee and held out her hands. Lissy ran towards her and threw herself into Andy's arms with a whisper of "Mommy". Lissy held her mother tightly. Sam made a mental note that something was wrong since his daughter didn't shed a single tear. Serena played shy and burrowed her face in Sam's shirt.

After a few minutes, Sam touched Andy's shoulder while nudging Lissy's arm. They both looked up at him. "You finish your homework?" he asked Lissy.

She nodded, still clinging to Andy.

"Let's go check it over and then you can show Mommy your –"

"Okay" she interrupted and scampered off. She didn't want her Daddy to ruin her surprise for her Mommy.

Sam put Serena down and Serena followed Lissy out of the hallway.

"Sam…"

"Tomorrow you start homework duty. Your dad is in the living room."

Andy nodded, suddenly understanding his push for her to be alone. He followed the girls as she walked into the living room.

"How was it?" Her father asked without looking up from his book.

She took him in. He was thinner but fit and healthy. She could tell he had not turned back to the bottle. "Dad" she whispered.

He looked up in surprise and opened his arms. "Andy, kiddo." He had honestly thought that Sam would come home and tell him that they found a body, he never expected to see his daughter alive again.

She sat down next to him and he pulled her in for a long hug. Neither said a word, they didn't need to.

When Tommy finally pulled away, he gave her a once over and his eyes narrowed as he took in the ring around her neck and the one on her middle finger. "One day you're going to sit down with me and Sam and you're going to tell us everything."

Andy nodded. Truthfully, she hoped Guns and Gangs would just record her session with them so she would never have to repeat the story beyond the first time.

Before she could respond, Lissy burst into the room. Serena toddled after her, trying to keep up. "Mommy" Lissy called "Aunty Traci helped me make this for you." She held out a handmade, hand-bound book.

Tommy stood. "I'm going to see if Sam needs any help in the kitchen." He wanted to give Andy time with her daughters.

* * *

><p>When Tommy entered the kitchen, he found Sam on the phone. He raised an eyebrow, wondering who Sam felt needed to be called, but stayed silent. As he listened to the conversation, he realized who Sam was speaking to and approved.<p>

"…No. I don't care. You can't talk to her now. Tonight is about her and the girls. I only called you so you wouldn't be surprised and hurt tomorrow because I could see the news spreading to more than just the local news."

There was a lull and then he spoke again. "You can't play the sister-in-law card. Motherhood trumps all. I love you Sarah but I have to go." He hung up with a sigh before turning to Tommy. "Sorry."

Tommy shook his head. "Sarah's family. She needed to know and she'll keep quiet. She's upset but she'll get over it once she's talked it out with her husband."

Sam nodded. "I hope so. I hate saying no to her but the girls come first."

"I'm assuming we're keeping the phones off tonight?"

"If it's okay with you. She needs time. There was a lot to go through and Jess convinced Superintendent Peck to hold off the press conference until tomorrow."

Tommy nodded. He had already figured out that piece of information through Sam's phone conversation with Sarah. "When you need to talk…" he trailed off.

Sam nodded. He knew he would need to vent eventually and he couldn't talk this out with Andy. "I know. Thank you. For everything."

The two men finished getting dinner ready in a comfortable silence.

* * *

><p>While Sam called Sarah, Lissy attacked Andy with her book.<p>

Although Lissy told her that Traci helped, Andy would have recognized her best friend's handiwork without the information. "Come sit with me and show me" she patted the cushion next to her.

Lissy climbed up and Serena hesitantly climbed up on the other side once she realized Andy would be holding the book.

As Andy flipped through the album with Lissy's running commentary, Serena watched Andy. After a few minutes, she crawled into Andy's lap and whispered "Mommy?"

Andy pulled her closer and kissed her forehead while commenting on a picture.

Sam found the three of them curled up together on the couch. "Dinnertime" he said softly.

Lissy looked up. "Can I sit next to Mommy?"

"Yes and you can show her the rest of the album later."

Lissy placed the album on the coffee table and ran into the kitchen. "Grandpa! I can sit next to Mommy!"

Serena shifted and tightened her grip on Andy's neck, burying her head against Andy's shoulder. Andy wrapped one arm around her daughter and held the other one out to Sam. He took it and pulled her to her feet.

As she readjusted her grip on her daughter she gasped. "Sam."

"What's wrong?" His eyes searched her face.

"She's so light." She remembered Lissy at the same age.

Sam smiled, relieved that Andy was okay. "Doctor said not to worry about it the last time I brought her in."

Andy let out a sigh of relief. She had missed so much. Sam took her sigh as permission to wrap an arm around her and pull her close. As he walked her to the kitchen he apologized. "I'm sorry about dinner. It's just macaroni and cheese."

Andy froze and turned so she could look him in the eye. "Sam, it's okay." He started to protest so she put a finger on his lips. "Every time I had to cook for them, all I could think about was how I wished I was at home making macaroni and cheese for the girls."

Sam cringed and her revelation and then moved her hand. He kissed it gently. "I'm sorry." He pulled her into the kitchen.

Tommy and Lissy were already seated. Sam went to sit as Andy approached the high chair. Serena started kicking and screaming as soon as Andy tried to put her down. Andy stopped trying to put her down and held her close. "Sh, I've got you."

Sam watched with interest, debating whether or not to interfere. With Lissy, Andy had always let her have the temper tantrums. Lissy learned quickly that Andy ignored her and stopped having temper tantrums.

Andy held Serena close and continued to whisper in her ear. Serena nodded and Andy grabbed Serena's fork and sippy cup before sitting in her seat.

Lissy immediately began to pout. "How come she gets to sit on your lap?"

Andy leaned over but Sam still heard as Andy whispered "because you're a big girl." Andy straightened herself and touched Serena's shoulder. "Just for tonight."

Sam nodded, understanding. Lissy and Serena began eating. Sam watched Andy, how she barely ate, but she shook her head. He realized that she had gotten used to not eating a lot. She noticed him watching her and mouthed "normal".

Sam nodded. "Liss, did you make any pictures in school today? I didn't see any on the counter with your homework."

Lissy shook her head and continued eating.

By Sam's raised eyebrow, Andy concluded that this was not normal. "Why not?" Sam pressed.

"Because I was Fairy Princess today."

Andy saw the look between Sam and her father and realized that they were just as lost as she was. "What's Fairy Princess?" she asked softly.

"You help Miss Griffen. And today people made a mess so I had to help clean it up and didn't have time to color."

Andy raised an eyebrow. "Did you know you were going to be Fairy Princess today?"

Lissy nodded. "Miss Griffen always chooses Fairy Princess or Magnificent Magician the day before."

"So why didn't you tell Daddy or Grandpa?" By her calculations, this would not have been the first time Lissy had this job.

"Because they can't make my hair like a princess."

Andy smiled. "Next time you _will_ tell me and I'll make your hair like a princess, okay?" She made a mental note to find out what hairstyle her daughter was talking about.

Lissy nodded and took a few more bites of food. "I'm done" she announced, setting down her fork.

Andy picked up the fork and shoveled some macaroni onto it. "Open up" she told Lissy and spoon-fed her. After three more forkfuls, she made a line down Lissy's plate. "Eat one half and then you can be finished."

Sam shook his head in amazement. It was always an argument to get Lissy to eat, yet Andy did it easily.

Lissy was finishing up when Serena announced her need for the bathroom. She had decided a few weeks earlier that she no longer liked her diapers and had started training herself. It was totally out of Sam's league, Andy had trained Lissy, and he went along with what his daughter wanted and had encouraged her.

Andy stood up and took Serena up the stairs to the bathroom. Sam recognized the silent sign that she was finished eating and began to clear the table.

Andy walked into the bathroom and groaned at the 'my little potty' in the corner. She had always hated the thing and had only used it twice with Lissy.

She convinced Serena to use the 'big girl' toilet and was sitting next to her when Lissy came in.

"Daddy said its bath time. Can I go first?"

Andy nodded. "Go get your pajamas." Lissy ran out of the room and Andy stood. "Serena, which towel is yours?"

"Pink!"

Andy pulled down the purple towel for Lissy and began to run the water. She turned back to Serena. "Finished pretty girl?"

Serena shook her head.

Lissy came back into the bathroom and climbed into the tub. Andy kissed Serena's forehead. "Tell me when you're done." She moved to the tub and supported Lissy as Lissy leaned back so Andy could wet her hair under the running water.

Sam walked in as Andy told Lissy to sit up and turned off the water. "Since when do you take a bath?"

"Since Mommy's home. You don't know how to do it right. Only Mommy does."

Andy looked at Sam, confused, as Sam sighed. "She hasn't taken a bath since the day after you left. She has insisted on taking showers. You need any help in here?"

Andy shook her head, instinctively knowing that Serena was going to want her, not Sam. "I'm good. Can you get Serena's pajamas?"

Sam left and Andy finished rubbing the shampoo into Lissy's hair.

She moved away from her daughter to turn the water back on to rinse the shampoo from Lissy's hair when Lissy suddenly jumped up from her seated position and threw her arms around Andy's neck, sobbing hysterically.

Andy wrapped her arms around her daughter and ran a soothing hand through her hair. "Sh, Liss, I've got you." She eased Lissy into a sitting position, mentally cursing the tub for the physical barrier.

Sam came in when he heard the sobbing, Serena's pajamas in his arms. He saw that Andy had it covered and walked over to Serena. "You done?"

"Mommy do it."

"Mommy's busy."

"I wait."

Sam sighed and took a step towards Andy. He placed his hand on her shoulder. "You need anything?"

"Can you take my ring?" she whispered.

He saw it was slipping off of her finger as she tried to comfort Lissy. He slipped it off and kissed her forehead. "Call me if you need me."

Andy nodded. "Lissy, sweetie, I need you to stop crying so you can tell me what's wrong."

As Lissy gave a hiccupped sob as she tried to stop crying, Serena announced "I done."

Andy continued to stroke Lissy's hair. "You can call Daddy or wait. I'm helping Lissy right now." She knew Serena would wait.

Lissy took a deep breath. "You didn't come back. You promised and you didn't come back."

Andy kissed Lissy's forehead. "I know sweetie. I missed you so much." She bit her lip, trying to figure out what to tell her daughter without scaring her. "Some bad men took me and didn't let me come home. Daddy worked really hard to find me and rescue me." She wanted to make Sam look like the hero, because in her eyes, her husband really was a hero. She knew that he never gave up.

"What if it happens again?" Lissy whispered.

Andy shook her head. "I'm not going back to work sweetie."

Lissy's eyes widened. "You're not?"

"Nope." She didn't know how Sam was going to take the news but Lissy's reaction sealed the deal, at least for now. She had a feeling that eventually she would go back in some capacity but she couldn't work the streets, at least not until the girls were much older.

A huge smile lit Lissy's face. "Thank you Mommy." She looked at her sister. "I think Serena needs you."

Andy smiled. "Can you wait a minute before I wash the shampoo out?" When Lissy nodded, Andy stood and cleaned Serena before coming back to wash out the shampoo.

* * *

><p>After a little begging, she agreed to let the girls play together in the tub (it was a custom made tub and was longer than a normal tub or she would not have agreed).<p>

When the water started to cool, she helped Lissy step out before lifting Serena out. As she dried and dressed Serena, Lissy changed into her pajamas.

Andy motioned for Lissy to come and she began to brush Lissy's hair. Lissy wiped the condensation off of the mirror so she could look at her mother. "Mommy? Can you sleep with me in my bed tonight?"

Andy spun her daughter around. "All done and we'll talk about it later with Daddy, okay?" She wanted both of her girls close to her when they went to bed, preferably in her bed with Sam there as well.

She brushed Serena's hair and was just finishing when Sam appeared in the doorway. "Ready for story time girls?"

"Mommy?" Serena asked hopefully.

"Mommy is going to take a shower first since you two got her all wet." He looked at Andy.

She nodded and then kissed both her daughters on the forehead. "Go. I'll come soon." She stepped closer to Sam and hugged him, resting her head on his shoulder. "Thank you" she whispered. He would know she was thanking him for the time alone with the girls.

He kissed her forehead but before he could respond they both heard "Daddy, let's go."

Andy pushed away from him. "I'll be down soon."

Sam brought the girls downstairs. Tommy met them in the living room. "Where's Andy?"

"Shower" Sam replied.

Tommy's eyes widened. "Girls, why don't you each pick out a few books."

He watched as the girls ran into the playroom and then he turned to his son-in-law. "Are you sure you should leave her alone right now?"

Sam looked confused. "Why?"

"Sam, this is the first time she's been alone since you found her. I know Andy. She's been repressing tears, unless she cried when you found her, which I doubt."

Sam whispered a curse.

Tommy touched his shoulder. "Go. I'll tell the girls you two needed some time alone."

Sam nodded his thanks and then took the stairs two at a time.

* * *

><p>Andy stripped off her shoes, shirt, and pants in the bedroom before walking into the bathroom. As she opened the door, the steam hit her. She quickly stepped inside and closed the door as the tears began to fall, knowing that after all this time Sam still knew exactly what she needed.<p>

She yanked off the rest of the clothing and turned on the water, stepping directly into the hot spray. Even the cool blast of air that signified the fact that someone entered to bathroom failed to move her. She didn't open her eyes until Sam pulled her out of the spray.

"It's okay to cry sweetheart" he whispered. "I've got you." He pulled her into his chest as sobs tore from her throat.

Sam just held her, whispering soothing words. When he had entered their bedroom, he had not heard anything but that scared him more than it would have had he heard her crying. He quickly shimmied out of his clothes, knowing intrinsically that she needed him. He was thankful that his father-in-law had their daughters.

Eventually Andy reached for the shampoo. Sam stopped her. "Let me."

She nodded, knowing that he needed to touch her.

Sam held her as he washed her hair. Andy leaned into him and let his touch sooth her. When he finished her hair, she looked at him and kissed him...

Eventually they made it out of the shower.

Sam quickly dried himself off and secured his towel around his waist before turning to her. He wrapped her in a towel and scooped her up, just as she had done with Serena.

He carried her to their bed and proceeded to show her just how much he loved her and how much he had missed her.

* * *

><p>Afterwards, they laid tangled in the sheets as they both tried to get their heart rates back to normal.<p>

Andy turned to Sam. "The girls."

"Your Dad has them."

"Doesn't he need to head home?"

Sam pushed himself up so he could lean on his elbow and talk to her. "Andy, things changed after you disappeared."

"What things?" she whispered, scared to hear his response.

Sam saw her fear and reached out with his other hand and touched her cheek. "Nothing bad." He saw her relax. "After you disappeared, I finished fixing up the basement and asked your Dad to move in. I needed help with the girls and I knew it would help him cope with you missing."

"Thank you Sam" she whispered. She leaned over and kissed him. "Can the girls stay with us tonight?"

He nodded, knowing her need to have them close.

She pushed herself up. "Good."

"Where are you going?"

"Downstairs, like I promised." She stood and picked up her tank top from the edge of the bed. "Why is this here?"

"Lissy sleeps with it." He quickly explained why Lissy used it and reassured her that it wasn't her fault.

Andy slipped on the tank top and opened a drawer to grab a pair of sweatpants and yanked them on before leaving the room.

Sam waited for her to leave before changing the linen.

* * *

><p>Andy found her girls on either side of Tommy, snuggled close as he read to them. She knew he was aware of her presence by the small smile that lit his face but he continued reading without acknowledging her.<p>

She leaned against the doorway and waited.

When Tommy finished the book, the girls noticed Andy and both called "Mommy!"

Tommy stood and kissed each of them on the forehead. "Good night girls."

"G'night Grandpa" they both replied.

He passed Andy. "Good night sweetie."

"Good night Dad. Thank you for everything."

Tommy touched her shoulder. "You're my family, my life. All four of you." He kissed her forehead. "Sleep well. I'll see you in the morning." He turned to the basement.

Andy sat down on the couch. She convinced Lissy to read to her and marveled at her daughter's skills.

At some point, Serena crawled up and fell asleep with her head on Andy's shoulder.

When Lissy finished reading, Andy told her to shift and they both stretched out of the couch. Lissy handed Andy another book.

Andy realized it was the nursery rhymes book. "Pick two and then its bedtime."

Lissy pointed out two.

Andy bit her lip for a second. "No, Lissy, I read those to you last time, pick two new ones."

Lissy picked two different ones and fell asleep while Andy was reading the first one.

Andy closed the book softly and looked up to find Sam leaning against the door frame. "That's the third copy of that book" he said conversationally.

"Why?"

"Lissy insisted on reading the same two rhymes every night. Wear and tear on the book I guess."

Andy sighed. "And I told her no."

"You were right. And you're home. You never let her choose the same ones two nights in a row. It was just easier in the beginning and then we couldn't break the habit." He came over and lifted Lissy. "C'mon."

Andy pushed herself up while cradling Serena. She followed Sam up the stairs. He motioned for her to get into bed and then set Lissy next to her before climbing in on the other side. Normally, he would have placed Lissy between them but he needed to be next to Andy for the night tonight.

Andy shifted Serena to a more comfortable position before looking at Sam. "Thank you for not giving up."

Sam leaned in and kissed her. "I love you." He grinned. "Remember that conversation that we had after we got suspended for the whole Brennan debacle?"

She nodded, confused.

"Tomorrow everything goes back to normal. So, wanna try being normal together?"

She smiled. "Love you" she yawned "goodnight." Her eyes fluttered closed.

Sam kissed her forehead softly and whispered a good night to his daughters even though they were asleep before closing his own eyes.

* * *

><p>Sam woke to a kick and immediately placed his hand on Andy's shoulder and shook her gently.<p>

Andy's eyes fluttered opened and she held Serena close. "Sam" she whispered.

"It's okay, it was just a dream." He pulled her close and stroked her hair gently. She relaxed against his touch and drifted off. He knew they needed to talk about it but she wasn't ready.

Instead of going back to sleep, he braced himself on his elbow and watched his girls sleep.

* * *

><p>Lissy woke suddenly. She realized that Mommy was home and smiled.<p>

"Go back to sleep sweetie."

She looked up as her father reached over her mother and started rubbing her back. He always did that when she couldn't sleep. "Goodnight Daddy" she murmured.

She drifted off while watching her Daddy watch her Mommy sleep. Her Mommy had promised she would always come back and never forget her, and she really had come back.

* * *

><p>A.N. The next chapter is when everyone else finds out...what surprises will the day bring?<p> 


	11. Chapter 10: The Next Day

Disclaimer: Don't own Rookie Blue.

A.N. This chapter is the longest chapter I think I have ever written on and it is for those of you who requested a family oriented story after reading the first chapter.

This chapter is dedicated to one of my closest friends who taught me the 'My Mommy Comes Back' song when we were doing a babysitting fundraiser for school.

Enjoy!

* * *

><p>Chapter 10 – The next Day:<p>

She felt a heavy pressure on her chest and began to panic before she remembered that she was home and the pressure on her chest was Serena.

She opened her eyes and stared at Sam's face. He has so many worry lines on his face and she felt guilty, knowing she was probably the cause. She was pulled out of her thoughts as Serena began to stir. "Shh, I've got you" she rubbed Serena's back. Serena snuggled closer and stayed asleep.

Andy turned to see if Lissy was awake and found her daughter seated on the bed, reading a book. "Morning sweetie."

"Morning Mommy."

Andy smiled. She had missed her daughter's cheerful greetings, though no one knew why she was a morning person when both of her parents were clearly not morning people. "Ready for breakfast?" At Lissy's nod, she shifted Serena off of her chest. Serena snuggled up to Sam but neither woke.

Andy took Lissy's hand and they walked down the stairs together. As they reached the bottom stair, Andy asked "how about pancakes?"

To her surprise, Lissy shook her head.

Andy froze in the doorway to the kitchen and knelt in front of her daughter, studying her face. "But you love chocolate chip pancakes."

Lissy's eyes lit up. "Chocolate chip pancakes?" She released Andy's hand and skirted past her to push a chair to the counter-top.

Andy stood and turned, looking confused. "What other pancakes would I make?"

"Plain." Lissy tried to reach for a bowl to mix the ingredients.

Andy stepped into the kitchen and pulled down the bowl and pancake mix. "Why would I make plain pancakes? No one likes them."

"Daddy said only plain pancakes and Serena likes them because she never had chocolate chip pancakes."

Andy stared at her daughter, utterly confused. "Why would Daddy say that?"

"It reminded him of you" said a voice behind them.

Andy jumped and spun. "Dad! Don't scare me like that. It is going to take me a little while to remember that you're always here."

Tommy grinned. "Coffee's ready."

Andy glared at him before pouring herself a cup of coffee. She added milk and then finished half the cup quickly before starting on the pancakes with her daughter. As they were mixing she softly asked "does that mean that you haven't had chocolate chip pancakes since…" she trailed off in her question.

"Pretty much" Tommy said softly.

"Nuh uh" Lissy said.

Tommy smiled. "Right. We did once but your daddy doesn't know about that."

_Flashback_

_Tommy woke suddenly. He took a deep breath and just listened to the sounds. His eyebrows shot up when he heard crying. He recognized it as Serena's cry and quickly made his way to the kitchen, feeling his way through the house in the dark._

_There was a light on in the kitchen. Sam was rummaging through the refrigerator, trying to calm Serena._

"_Sam?" he called softly._

_Sam looked up and Tommy moved closer. He took Serena from Sam's arms so Sam could search with both hands. "What's wrong?"_

"_I think she might have an ear infection. I gave her tylenol but it hasn't kicked in yet. I'll take her to the doctor first thing in the morning." He found the apple juice and poured it into her sippy cup before taking her back into his arms._

"_Anything I can do?"_

_Sam ran his free hand through his hair. "Did you hear her crying before?"_

_Tommy shook his head. "How long has she been crying for?"_

"_Half an hour."_

"_I didn't hear anything until you came into the kitchen."_

_Sam closed his eyes for a second. "Can you take Lissy for the night? Serena already woke her up and she won't go back to sleep if she hears Serena crying."_

_Tommy agreed and learned that his granddaughter was similar to her mother in another way. When Andy was younger, if she would get scared and climb into bed with her parents, she would curl into a ball and then not move for the remainder of the night. Lissy was the same._

_End Flashback_

Andy raised an eyebrow and then realized her father was lost in a memory. "Dad?"

"Serena got sick. Sam took her to the doctor first thing in the morning. We made pancakes and had it all cleaned up before Sam got home."

Andy sighed and kissed her daughter's forehead. "I'm sorry sweetie."

"Speaking of Sam and Serena" Tommy said as he turned on the skillet, "where are they?"

"Asleep."

Tommy raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? Sam's still asleep?"

"He was up late watching Mommy."

Andy raised an eyebrow but truthfully, she wasn't surprised. She remembered that he woke her from her nightmare and she could have guessed that he wouldn't go back to sleep after that 'just in case'.

Tommy wasn't surprised either, if she could judge by the smile on his face. "If you want to let Sam sleep, I would suggest you go check on Serena. She can be rather vocal about her need to go to the bathroom in the morning." He saw Andy wavering. "Lissy and I have breakfast under control. Right Liss?"

Lissy nodded. "I help Grandpa a lot."

Andy kissed her daughter again on the forehead and kissed her father on the cheek while whispering "thank you" before heading back up the stairs.

Serena and Sam were both asleep. She went into the closet and selected something to wear. Slipping into the bathroom, she quickly dressed and clasped the necklace with both rings around her neck. She was about to grab her makeup (she loved how Sam hadn't touched anything) when she heard something from the bedroom. She stepped out and saw Serena stirring.

Andy walked over to the bed. Careful not to wake Sam, she lifted Serena and carried her out of the room. From what she remembered, Serena was a cuddler. She went into the nursery and sat down in the rocking chair, rocking Serena gently.

Eventually Serena lifted her head. "Mommy?"

"Do you need to go to the bathroom?" Andy asked softly, brushing Serena's hair out of her face.

Serena nodded.

~~~00~~~

Andy dressed Serena before bringing her downstairs to the kitchen.

Her father had already cut a pancake for Serena and it was sitting on her high chair tray. Andy placed Serena in the seat and grabbed her half finished cup of coffee. She poured more hot coffee into the cup and sat down next to Lissy. "How do they taste sweetie?"

"Yummy!" Lissy smiled. "Thank you Mommy. Thank you Grandpa."

Tommy finished up the last of the pancakes – blueberry for himself and Sam – and then covered a plate for Sam before sitting down.

~~00~~

When they finished eating, Tommy told Andy that he would clean up. She started to protest but he shot her a glare and she stopped arguing; especially when he told her she needed to get Lissy ready for school.

As soon as Lissy heard her grandfather's words, she scampered up the stairs to get dressed.

Andy washed Serena up and then followed Lissy up the stairs to help both of her girls with their hair.

Lissy insisted on a French Braid. Andy braided her hair and then sent her to find her socks and shoes. She lifted Serena onto the counter and listened to her chatter as she styled Serena's hair into one of her favorite hairdos for a child. Sam called it the whale spout but she loved it.

She finished and turned Serena so she could see herself in the mirror. "So pretty".

"That's right Serena, you're so pretty." She kissed Serena's forehead.

Serena turned to face Andy. "Mommy turn."

Andy looked at her daughter. "Mommy's turn for what?" she asked as she lifted Serena off the counter.

"Hair!" Serena exclaimed, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I agree."

Andy jumped and turned, Serena secure in her arms. "Sam! Don't scare me like that. I could have dropped her."

Sam saw her shaking slightly and took a few steps towards her so he could pull her into his arms. "Sorry." He kissed her softly. "Good morning."

"Morning." She handed Serena to him. "Breakfast is downstairs. I'll be down in a minute." He was already dressed and he took Serena and left her alone.

She fixed her hair into a half ponytail with a clip. A smile graced her features as she remembered tossing a similar clip aside the first time she had gone to Sam's cover apartment when he had been going after Jamie Brennan.

She descended to find Serena sitting on Sam's lap, eating a blueberry pancake. "You already ate" she chided softly.

"Yummy" Serena said, holding out part of the pancake for Andy. She noticed that unlike her father, who had cut the pancake, Sam just handed her the entire pancake and she was eating with her hands.

Sam chuckled. "She's a bottomless pit." He took a sip of coffee.

Andy shook her head. "Where's my father?"

"He goes walking every day. He left after he cleaned up."

Andy nodded and then spotted Lissy's lunchbox on the counter. She grabbed a piece of paper and jotted something quickly and stuck it into Lissy's lunchbox before calling to her daughter, "Lissy, you need to finish getting ready for school."

Lissy came in and grabbed her lunchbox. Andy followed her to the front hallway and watched her daughter place her lunchbox in her backpack.

Sam called out to Andy to meet him in the garage and she realized that they were running late. She grabbed Lissy's bag and Lissy slipped her hand into Andy's and the two of them made their way to the garage. They stopped right outside the garage to grab Lissy's jacket. Andy swallowed a lump in her throat when she saw her jacket hanging next to Sam's. She grabbed her jacket and followed Lissy into the garage.

Lissy buckled herself into her car seat as Andy leaned against the door and waited for Sam.

He appeared with two travelers mugs filled with coffee in his hands as Serena walked next to him.

Andy walked up the stairs and grabbed Serena's jacket, helping her daughter slip into it. Then she grabbed Sam's jacket and he handed her the two cups of coffee before lifting Serena. Andy wished she could buckle her daughter in but Serena's car seat was behind Sam's seat for convenience.

The drive to Lissy's school was quiet as the girls listened to a book on tape. She was content to just watch her husband drive and steal glances at her girls.

It was only when they entered the school parking lot that Lissy spoke. "Why're you parking?"

"I thought you wanted to show Mommy your classroom."

Lissy squealed with delight as Sam pulled into a parking spot.

Sam held Serena and the four of them made their way towards the building.

Sam spoke briefly to the teacher who was greeting all of the students at the door but Andy didn't catch his conversation. Lissy was tugging her hand and dragged Andy into the building to show her mother her locker.

"Hi Lissy" a musical voice greeted as Lissy tucked her backpack into her locker. "Who's this?"

Lissy grinned. "Miss Griffen! My mommy came home last night!"

The woman stuck a hand out to Andy. "Ashley Griffen. I'm Lissy's teacher." After Andy introduced herself, she motioned for Andy to follow her into a classroom.

Sam waited for Miss Griffen to point a few things out before giving a pointed look at his watch. School would be starting in a few minutes and he had a feeling Lissy was going to be a little difficult. "Andy, we have to get going."

"It was nice to meet you Officer" Miss Griffen said softly. "I'm glad you're okay."

Andy's eyes widened. "How did you know?"

"I made the connection the first day of school when Lissy brought in family pictures and then when I met your husband."

"Thank you. I'm happy to be home." She touched Lissy's head. "By sweetie. I'll come pick you up later."

Lissy grabbed Andy's leg and began to sob. "I don't want to stay. I want to go with you."

Andy pulled Lissy away so she could kneel before her daughter. She brushed the tears from her daughter's cheeks before gathering her in a hug. "I know sweetie. But you have to learn. I promise I'll come get you when it's time to come home."

Miss Griffen knelt next to them. "Lissy, your Mommy has to go but she'll be back. Let her go now and during lunch recess you can stay inside with me and we'll make that Mother's Day project for your Mommy that you refused to make last year."

Lissy's eyes widened and she let go of Andy. "Really?"

Miss Griffen nodded while motioning for Andy to stand. "Really. Now say goodbye to your parents."

Lissy glanced at Andy, who had made her way over to Sam. "We'll see you later" Sam said.

Lissy began to cry again but Miss Griffen told them just to go.

As soon as they were out of the classroom, Andy took Serena from Sam, needing the comfort.

* * *

><p>Halfway home, Andy asked Sam to stop. He saw the small park and pulled into a parking spot.<p>

They were alone, although Sam knew that within a few hours, the park would be filled with nannies and mothers taking advantage of one of the last nice days of the year.

Sam pushed Serena in a baby swing as Andy sat in a regular swing. She was silent, and Sam left her to her thoughts.

After ten minutes of listening to Serena's babbling, Andy spoke. "What are they saying on the news?"

"No idea."

Andy planted her feet firmly on the ground, stopping herself mid-swing as she glared at him. "How can you not know?"

"Because. Listen, Andy. Peck withheld the news last night. She was supposed to have a press conference today with the news about you and the capture of the Granger Gang."

Andy sighed and changed the topic abruptly. "I really missed you."

Sam was about to answer when Serena demanded to be taken out. Sam lifted her out and then walked over to Andy. He kissed her softly. "I know."

Serena wriggled out of Sam's arms. Andy grabbed her just before she fell, feeling Sam's panic at the thought of dropping their daughter.

Sam stepped back and Andy rocked back and forth while holding Serena for a few minutes.

Eventually Serena had enough. "Slide?" she asked Andy.

"Sure sweetie."

Sam helped Serena climb the equipment and Andy caught her as she went down the slide. Andy lost count after eight rotations.

When Andy got bored, she asked Serena if she was ready to go. She had already caught Sam yawning twice.

Serena walked in between her parents, one hand in each of theirs. They were a short distance away from the minivan when she abruptly let go and started to run. "Unca Ris! Unca Ris!"

Chris knelt and scooped her up. "Hey cutie" he said as he stood. He looked at Sam and Andy. "Superintendent Peck made the announcement this morning. With your information, IA jumped in last night and already suspended the moles from 31st and 34th, pending investigation. We found the accounting books as well."

Sam pulled Andy close. "You did it" he murmured in her ear. He turned to Chris. "You on your way to work?"

Chris nodded. "Yeah. And Jess said to tell you that the offer still stands."

"What offer and what shift are you on today?" Andy asked Sam.

"Andy, I…" he realized that he had not told Andy about his 'retirement'.

Chris' phone rang, interrupting the conversation. "This is Diaz" he answered. He listened for a second and then said "yes". He listened for another minute and then said "I'll tell them" and hung up. He looked at Sam and Andy. "That was Tommy. He's been trying to reach you."

Sam felt his pocket. "I must've left my cell phone in the car and Andy's is still in the house."

Chris nodded. "I have to get going but Jess wants Andy to stop by later today if possible." He looked at Andy. "If Tommy's not available and you want Sam with you, I can watch the girls."

They said their goodbyes and Andy took Serena from Chris before parting ways.

As soon as Sam picked up his cell phone, he furrowed his eyebrows in concern. Andy finished buckling Serena in and then noticed his look. "What's wrong?"

"I got a call from Lissy's school." He hit speed dial five for Tommy as Andy rounded the car to get into the passenger seat.

As soon as Tommy picked up, Sam asked "what happened to Lissy?"

He listened to Tommy as Andy buckled her seatbelt. As soon as Andy was buckled, her started the car and began driving. When Tommy finished her said "no, I've got it. Continue on your walk." He hung up.

Andy touched his arm. "What's going on?" She was now regretting the fact that her phone was at home.

"Lissy cried herself sick. We have to go pick her up."

Andy's grip tightened on Sam's arm and the rest of the drive passed in silence.

When they reached the school, Sam unbuckled. "Let me get her" Andy begged quietly.

Sam started to protest but she held up a hand. "I promised Sam."

He sighed in defeat. "Do you have your ID on you?"

Andy nodded and slipped out of the car.

At the front door, she identified herself and was told to come to the front office.

As soon as she walked to the window of the office, she was asked for ID. She pulled it out of her pocket and handed it to the woman, hoping the woman wouldn't examine the picture closely. Andy knew she looked different.

The woman examined the ID for a while and finally Andy had enough. "Please, my daughter is sick and I have things I need to take care of today. Why can't I sign her out?"

"Mommy?"

Andy didn't realize that the nurse's office was off of the main office. "Hi sweetie" she said softly.

Lissy tried to get out of the office. The secretary told her to hold on and unlocked the electronic door.

Andy bent down and lifted Lissy into her arms despite Sam's warning from the night before.

She nuzzled her daughter's nose with her own as she stood. Sam was right; Lissy was a lot heavier than she was used to - which would make sense because she was a year and a half older. "What happened?"

"I threw up" Lissy whispered, playing with her mother's rings and not looking at her.

"Lissy, Princess, its okay." She leaned her daughter against the wall. "It happens. I'm going to sign you out and then we'll get your backpack. Daddy and Serena are waiting in the car."

She set Lissy down and turned to the secretary. "Can I sign her out and have my ID back please?" The woman had to realize that Lissy was her daughter by now.

The secretary handed her a clipboard with a sign-out sheet and her license. "Welcome home officer" she said softly.

Andy resisted the urge to roll her eyes and plastered a smile on her face knowing she would be hearing these words for the next few weeks. "Thank you. I'm happy to be home." She handed back the signed form.

"Mrs. Swarek." She turned and saw Miss Griffen and nodded at her to continue. "Lissy, why don't you get your backpack while I talk to your mommy for a minute."

Lissy nodded and began to walk towards her locker. Her mother and teacher followed her.

Miss Griffen handed Andy a packet. "Your husband asked that if Lissy ever had to leave early if I could send home work so she would stay with the class. She's a bright girl; I wouldn't worry about it if she doesn't have time to complete this work today."

Andy nodded and accepted the sheets. "Thank you." She glanced at Lissy and saw that her daughter was out of earshot. "What happened?"

Miss Griffen sighed. "She cried for a few minutes after you left but stopped when I distracted her by asking her to help me sort through beads for a game we are going to be playing later.

"I have a student teacher once a week. During circle time, she mentioned hearing on the news how a missing officer was found and Lissy burst into tears. She came to me and started crying for you until she cried herself sick."

Andy sighed. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. This is hard for her. She's afraid you won't be there when she comes home. The principal is out of town but I spoke to her and the nurse. Even though the school policy is 24 hours when a child is sick, Lissy can come back tomorrow on time since we all know she isn't really sick but we have to send her home."

"Thank you." Lissy returned and slipped her hand into her mother's. "What do you say to Miss Griffen?"

"Thank you."

Miss Griffen knelt. "Bye Lissy. We'll make your project tomorrow and no crying tomorrow, right?"

Lissy nodded. Andy nudged her. "And no making yourself sick."

Lissy shook her head. "No crying and no getting sick. Bye Miss Griffen." She handed her bag to her mother and the two of them made their way back to Sam and Serena.

Sam waited until they were both buckled before pulling away. He reached for Andy's hand and she squeezed gently.

Sam glanced at her. "Do you want to get it over with now?"

She tensed. "What about the girls?"

Sam pulled into a small grocery store parking lot. "Chris said he could watch them. I have a feeling you'll be more comfortable if they're in the same building as you right now. I'm going to get some snacks for them. I'll be right back." He parked the car and got out.

Andy turned around. "Girls, do you want to go see Uncle Chris at work?"

They both cheered. Andy looked at Lissy. "Mommy and Daddy need to talk to someone. No crying with Uncle Chris. You're going to do your school work."

Lissy nodded as Serena cheered "Daddy!"

Andy turned in her seat as Sam opened Serena's door so he could toss the snacks into the back.

He got back into the driver's seat and handed Andy a water bottle. "Drink" he ordered.

* * *

><p>When they got to the Guns and Gangs headquarters, Sam flashed his badge and a secretary led them to Chris' desk.<p>

Andy took Serena to the bathroom and returned to find Sam and Chris talking next to Chris' desk while Lissy sat in his chair, already hard at work. "Where's Detective Erico?"

Chris pointed to Jess' office and they saw her on the phone. "She had to take that call. She said you should wait in Interview One for her."

Sam took Andy's hand. "Be good for Uncle Chris" he called to the girls as he led Andy to Interview One.

As soon as the door closed behind him, she rounded on him. "You never answered my questions. What offer and what shift are you on today?"

Sam swallowed. "Andy, as I told you last night, things changed after you left."

"What kind of things?"

Sam scratched the back of his head. "I took early retirement. I couldn't leave the girls alone."

Andy's eyes widened.

"As for your first question, Jess wants me to join Guns and Gangs."

"You should. Now that I'm back, I don't think I'm going back to work. I can't at this point. You loved Guns and Gangs and that was always the plan for one day in the future."

Sam's eyes widened at her revelation, but truthfully, he wasn't that surprised that she couldn't go back at that point. He knew he and Tommy would be taking bets to how long it would last before she got bored. The conversation came to an end before he could respond as Jess knocked on the door and entered. She introduced the people who set up the video but Andy didn't pay attention to their names.

* * *

><p>The interview was long and grueling. Jess was good at her job but Sam noticed Andy faltering part way through the interview. He suggested a switch and Jess wrote a list of questions for him to ask Andy but otherwise stayed silent for the rest of the interview. If she noticed the way Sam stretched his legs under the table or the way that Andy wrapped her legs around his and held, she never said anything.<p>

For her part, once Jess and Sam switched, Andy was able to close her eyes and picture herself confiding to Sam. They couldn't hold hands but no one saw what happened under the table.

When they finished, Jess turned off the cameras and walked them out of the room. She hugged Andy. "Welcome home Andy."

Andy hugged her back. "Thank you." She lowered her voice. "I'm sure we'll be seeing each other more often than we did before I was taken." At Jess' raised eyebrow she murmured "Sam'll be working for you within a year." She pulled away and hurried to join Sam.

* * *

><p>They took the girls for pizza. Halfway through, Serena fell asleep on Andy's shoulder.<p>

When Lissy finished eating, Sam lifted Serena. As they walked back to the minivan, Sam glanced at her. "You wanna go now or have everyone and their brother stop by tonight after shift?"

Andy sighed. "Now. I don't want to deal with it tonight."

As Sam drove, he worked out a plan with Andy. After all, she needed to go in undetected so she could talk to Frank.

When he pulled into the parking lot, he told Lissy to wait, that he needed her help.

Andy slipped into the station. She flashed her badge at the woman sitting behind the desk (thankfully someone she didn't know) and was waved through. She kept her head down and walked quickly to Frank's office.

* * *

><p>Sam took his time lifting Serena out of her car-seat. Thankfully, Serena stayed asleep as Sam lifted her out.<p>

Lissy waited for Sam to close the door before slipping her hand into his. She only let go when he needed to open the door.

The rookie behind the desk smiled at them. "Good afternoon Officer Swarek."

Sam rolled his eyes. The fact that the rookies called him 'Officer Swarek' just showed that Frank still wanted him to come back. Instead of answering, he nodded at her.

"Hi sweetie" she said to Lissy.

"Hi" Lissy whispered.

"You can go back. Officer Shaw is at his desk."

Sam rolled his eyes again as he led Lissy past the desk. He didn't particularly care that Oliver was in, he needed to see Frank.

"Daddy?" Lissy asked softly. "Why did she call me sweetie?"

"Because she doesn't know your name." They reached the bullpen. "Look, Uncle Oliver is by his desk." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Andy walking up the stairs towards Frank's office.

Lissy looked up at him. "Can I go tell him that Mommy came back?"

Sam squeezed her hand and then released it with a smile. He was positive that Oliver already knew but he wasn't going to rain on her parade. "Sure."

"Uncle Oliver!" she shrieked as she ran towards his desk.

Sam saw Andy freeze for a second, her hand holding the door to Frank's office open. Serena stirred in his arms and he took his eyes off of Andy to try to rock Serena back to sleep.

"My Mommy's back!" Lissy yelled as Oliver stood and crouched down to hug her.

Serena's eyes flew open. She looked around. When she didn't see Andy she whimpered "Mommy."

Sam knew he had a short window of time to get her back to sleep or she would be awake and cranky for the rest of the day.

He glanced at Oliver to find his friend watching him. "Watch her" he mouthed, pointing his chin at Lissy. With Oliver's nod, he headed up to Frank's office.

Andy met him by the door. She took Serena from his arms and whispered "sh, baby girl, I've got you. Go back to sleep." She rocked her daughter gently.

Frank had to smile. Sam and Andy's partnership was something special and he was happy to see it back in action.

Serena fell asleep quickly and then Sam pushed Andy into a chair. He stood behind her and gently massaged her shoulders.

Frank sat behind his desk. "Continuing our conversation…I was a little surprised when the Superintendent herself called me and told me to watch her press conference and that she would be in touch after."

"Sorry sir." Andy said softly.

Frank shook his head. "Last night was about family. I get it. It's okay.

"To get back to it, as soon as the press conference was over, she called to ask me how it felt to have one of my finest officers back."

Actually –" Andy interrupted him.

Frank held up a hand, stalling the rest of her sentence. "Before I could respond, she informed me that the TPD is granting you six months of paid leave, as long as you agree to speak to a psychologist. We'll talk after that time."

Both men expected Andy to balk at the psychologist suggestion but she surprised them by agreeing to speak to someone. It made Sam wonder what she hadn't told Jess and he made a mental note to call Jess after Andy spoke to the psychologist.

Frank looked out of his office. He saw many officers glancing periodically at his office and knew they wanted to welcome Andy back. Then he saw something by Oliver's desk that caught his attention. "Sammy, is that Lissy?"

Sam looked and smiled.

"What's wrong?" Andy wanted to know, concern evident in her voice.

"Nothing" Frank reassured her. "This is just a different side of your daughter, the side we haven't really seen around here since you disappeared."

Sam took over. "I told you that Lissy was withdrawn. At home, she was fine but any time I came to the station, she would only talk to Oliver or myself. She wouldn't even talk to Traci. So I stopped bringing her and only came when she was in school." He left out why he came, to recertify for all of the false alarms.

Andy sighed. "Sam, will you take Serena? I don't want her to wake up when I go out there."

Sam lifted Serena and stayed in Frank's office to discuss a few things.

As soon as Andy hit the bottom step, Traci flew at her. "Andy!" she cried, hugging her friend fiercely.

Andy hugged her for a second and then dropped one of her hands. Seconds later, she felt a small hand slip into her own and squeezed it gently as she felt Lissy wrap her other hand around her leg.

Eventually Traci pulled back. "I've really missed you" she said softly.

Andy nodded. "We have a lot to catch up on Detective."

Traci nodded. "We'll have to do a ladies' night sometime in the near future."

Andy blushed and then whispered "It'll have to be by my house; I'm not ready to leave them yet."

Traci nodded, hugged her again, and then stepped away.

It was a little overwhelming, the amount of people hugging her, until she realized this was her family, and they had missed her and feared for her safety. Most people just hugged her and said "welcome home" before returning to duty. They all understood why she could only return their hugs with a one-armed hug of her own.

Jerry walked into the station as the line dwindled but everyone left let him go ahead. He hugged her and kissed her cheek before stepping back to fish a lollipop out of his jacket for Lissy. "Welcome home Andy. We've missed you."

He probably would have said more but "Detective Barber, Line Three." He winked at Andy and then walked into his office.

The line disappeared quickly after that, leaving Andy a little confused. She had yet to see Oliver, Dov, or Gail. She assumed Oliver had disappeared to call Zoe and she guessed that Dov and Gail were on a call. She swallowed her disappointment as she heard footsteps.

Luke and Jo appeared. Luke immediately handed his cup of coffee to Jo and stepped forward to hug her. When he stepped back, he took both cups from Jo so she could hug Andy.

With Luke, Andy had barely touched him and hadn't really been so comfortable when he whispered "welcome home" in her ear. With Jo, it was the total opposite. "Thank you for finding me" she said as Jo pulled away.

"Thank Diaz and Erico. It was all them. But, if you have some time, it might be nice to stop by my division and thank the officers who came."

Andy nodded. She had already thought of that and going to Drug Squad, but some other day. "What are you doing here?"

Jo sighed. "Homicide case that stretched into both divisions. Case starts in court tomorrow and we need to go over the notes."

Andy nodded. "I'll see you later then."

As Jo and Luke walked away, Lissy suddenly dropped her hand. Andy was startled, until she saw Oliver walking towards her.

He pulled her into a bone crushing hug, which she returned. "Welcome back Andy. Zoe says hi and you should call her when you're ready for visitors."

She nodded against his shoulder. "Thank you for everything." She knew, without a doubt, that Oliver and Zoe had pitched in to help Sam with the girls.

"Mommy" a soft voice whined.

Andy pulled away from Oliver and saw Sam standing next to her, Serena struggling in his grip. "Hi sweetie" she said softly, brushing some hair out of Serena's eyes. "Did you have a good nap?" She took Serena from Sam's arms.

Oliver watched the exchange with a smile on his face. "So, BBQ this weekend for everyone?"

Out of the corner of her eye, Andy noticed Frank join them. Jerry had stepped out of him office, phone call complete. She shook her head. "Not this weekend. The one after."

Jerry stepped forward and handed Serena a lollipop as he asked "too soon?"

Andy shook her head and murmured "say 'thank you' to Uncle Jerry."

"Thank you" Serena repeated before holding the lollipop out to Andy. "Open?"

"Please."

"Open please."

Andy unwrapped the lollipop and handed it to Serena.

"Andy" Sam said softly, his hand on her shoulder. "Why can't we do it this weekend?" He was still confused and didn't think it was too soon.

She looked at him. "I think we're going to end up in St. Catharines this weekend, if your sister has anything to say about it."

Sam nodded. Sarah would have come to Toronto if Andy insisted but Andy knew how much his sister hated Toronto. "You're right. So we're on for the Saturday after at our house. We'll work the time around shifts." He took Lissy's hand and began to walk out with his family, his other arm wrapped around Andy's waist.

"Sammy!" Oliver called after them. "I'm assuming we won't see you tonight?"

"Nope" he called over his shoulder.

Andy waited until Sam had started driving before asking "what's tonight?"

"Poker. Your dad told me to keep playing with them. Although, I always made it home since the girls wanted me when they woke up."

Andy nodded, grateful that her father convinced him to continue.

Sam's phone rang and he answered without checking Caller ID. "Swarek."

Andy only heard one side of the conversation but it sparked her curiosity.

"Sounds fine…yeah… ...I'll have Andy take care of it…on our way home, see you soon." He hung up and turned off the book on tape. "Girls?" he looked in the rearview mirror "how do hotdogs sound?"

"Yay!" they both cheered.

He glanced at Andy as he turned the cd back on. "Burgers okay?"

She nodded. She realized that it must have been her father on the phone. She waited a minute to see if he would say anything else but when he stayed silent, curiosity got the better of her. "So Detective" she said quietly, as she placed her hand on his arm.

He stopped at a red light and shot her a glare. "I haven't made the decision yet."

Andy snorted. "By the end of one year you'll be working out of Guns 'n Gangs. We both know it, it was the original plan."

Sam sighed. "Fine. You're right." The light turned green and he started driving again.

"What am I going to take care of?" she asked, continuing the conversation as if he hadn't interrupted her.

"Huh?"

"You told my dad 'Andy will take care of it'. What is it that I'm taking care of?"

"Sarah keeps calling the house. You'll call her because she's mad at me that I didn't let her talk to you last night."

Andy nodded and then yawned.

"Tired?" Sam asked gently.

"A little." She turned around. "Liss, sweetie, did you do your homework with Uncle Chris?"

After getting a "no" from her daughter, she turned back to Sam. "I want to go home, help Lissy with her homework, play outside with the girls while I talk to Sarah, feed them, bathe them, read to them and put them to bed. Then I want to curl up next to you and sleep."

Sam grinned. "I believe that might have been a run-on sentence, what are you teaching your daughter?" He teased. "Seriously though, it sounds like a great plan."

"You're not upset?"

"Upset?"

"That I'm tired?"

Sam sighed. "Andy, I'm perfectly happy just to sleep right now with you next to me." He squeezed her hand and stayed silent as she thought over his words.

Two blocks from home, he glanced at her. "Spit it out. I can hear you thinking."

"Where were Gail and Dov? I mean, wouldn't Frank have called them in?"

Sam sighed. "He would have, if they still worked for him. Dov's ETF now and Gail went to Vancouver for a swap op. We got Hill thanks to that but Gail has yet to return." He didn't elaborate.

"She's done. She just doesn't want to come back to Toronto." Andy stated it as a fact instead of a question.

"Probably. She had a lot to live up to here."

"I want her number."

Sam nodded. "I can do that." He turned off the car. "Girls, we're home." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone leaning against a car parked in the street.

"Andy" a voice called as she stepped out of the minivan.

"Dov?" She scrambled out of the minivan and ran to hug him. They talked for a few minutes and then Dov left for shift.

* * *

><p>Andy's plan went smoothly until they were cleaning up dinner. Andy and Tommy were in the kitchen while Sam helped the girls clean up the playroom.<p>

Tommy's cell phone rang and he stepped out to take the call. When he came back, Sam had joined Andy in the kitchen. "That was Mark" he said softly.

"One of your poker buddies?" Andy asked.

"Yeah. He hurt his back and he wanted to know if I can come over to help move some things to lower shelves so he has easier access." He looked at the two of them.

Andy nodded. "Go kiss the girls goodnight. We're almost done in here."

After he left, Andy bathed Serena. Sam lifted her from the tub with a smile on his face and dried her off as Lissy climbed into the tub. He could already see routine forming.

He was putting on her pajamas when she started crying. Andy's head shot up immediately. "What's wrong baby girl?"

"Want Mommy."

Sam gathered her in his arms and flipped the lid of the toilet so he could sit. "Mommy's giving Lissy a bath, just like she gave you a bath. We can watch from here until Mommy finishes okay?"

Serena frowned but curled against Sam. Andy watched with a smile on her face.

* * *

><p>By the time Andy finished bathing Lissy, Serena was out cold. She dried her arms and then lifted Serena from Sam's arms. Serena stirred. "Sh, Mommy's got you" Andy whispered softly. She looked at Sam. "I'll be right back."<p>

Sam kissed Serena's forehead and whispered "goodnight sweetie" before letting Andy go. He lifted Lissy out of the tub and set her on the counter-top. He marveled at all of the instantaneous changes, Lissy used to love when he dressed her for bed but insisted on doing everything herself once Andy disappeared.

When she had her pajamas on, he took her into the bedroom, piggy-back style. Andy read to her and then they both said goodnight and kissed her.

"Mommy?" she whispered, eyes already fighting sleep "can you stay with me?"

"Not tonight sweetie."

"Then can I stay with you?"

Sam bent so he was on eye level with her. "Mommy and I need you to help us. Sometimes Serena wakes up in the middle of the night. If she sees you in here, she won't cry and she'll just go back to sleep so can you stay?"

"Okay" she whispered and her eyes closed.

"Seriously?" Andy whispered as they backed out of the room.

"Yeah. Every once in a while, normally before I've even gone to bed. I hear her on the baby monitor."

Andy nodded. "We need to talk about getting her a real bed." She yawned.

"It can wait. You're exhausted. Go shower."

Andy climbed into the shower as Sam brushed his teeth. He had showered earlier.

When she emerged, Sam was not in the bedroom. Confused, she climbed into bed.

Sam entered a minute later with something in his hands. "I made this for you for our anniversary and want to give it to you now."

Andy opened the wrapping paper as Sam climbed in next to her. "Sam, it's beautiful" she whispered.

"So are you" he said softly.

Andy placed the jewelry box on the table next to the bed and then settled against his chest. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For not having anything for you and for being too tired tonight."

Sam rolled his eyes. "Stop apologizing. You're home, in my arms, which makes me a VERY happy man. Go to sleep."

* * *

><p>A few hours later, Sam woke to a strangled cry. "Andy, wake up" he said as he touched her shoulder.<p>

Her eyes flew open. "Sam!"

"You okay?" When she shook her head no, he got out of bed. "Put these on." He tossed her a pair of socks and a sweatshirt.

Confused, she followed his command and then he took her hand and led her down the stairs. She saw the monitor in his hand and he snagged a blanket from the couch before leading her outside.

He sat on the porch swing and she curled up next to him as he spread the blanket over her body.

"Where's the truck?"

"Your father probably went to an AA meeting tonight after helping Mark."

"Oh."

"Wanna talk about your nightmare?" He was happy that Frank had suggested the psychologist.

Andy gripped his hand tightly in her own. "You guys came but they were expecting you. You were one of the officers that Matt shot." She swallowed. "Then they shot me and as I bled out, I realized that our girls would be orphans."

Sam held her tightly. "Andy, it was just a nightmare. I'm okay, you're okay and the girls are thrilled that you're home." He rocked her for a while.

He thought she was asleep when she spoke again. "You know that song that I sang to Lissy? The one she insisted you keep singing? My mother used to sing it to me every day when I didn't want to get out of the car to go to school. And then, one day, she didn't come back. She left in the middle of the night and never returned.

"I swore I would never to that to the girls. And I was so afraid that it would happen anyways, even though I didn't want it to."

Sam pulled her into his lap. "Andy, you came back. We're gonna be okay." He stroked her hair as he rocked them. Even after she fell asleep, he continued to rock.

Headlights caused him to stop. He realized Tommy was returning home and waited.

Tommy smiled as he looked at his sleeping daughter. "Nightmare?"

"Yeah. How was the meeting?"

Tommy sighed. "Evidently I'm famous now that Andy's back. Honestly, it was ridiculous. I should have gone to a meeting where no one knew me." He looked at Andy. "You know she's asleep and you should get her inside before both of you catch a cold."

Sam stood, cradling his wife. Tommy held the door and told Sam he would lock up.

Sam set Andy in their bed and gently removed the socks and sweatshirt. When he crawled in beside her, she snuggled up against him but didn't wake.

His last thought before he drifted off was that he and Andy had had their fair share of arguments and she had walked out a few times but _**she always came back**_**.**

* * *

><p>A.N. I originally wrote this chapter as flashbacks but it got to be too complicated. Therefore, I'm debating about an epilogue - one year later - which will allow me to add the part I already have written that just wasn't working here. Let me know what you think (and if you want an epilogue, anything you might want to see because I have not finished writing it yet).<p> 


	12. Epilogue

Disclaimer: Don't own Rookie Blue.

A.N. This takes place exactly one year after the last chapter – there are a lot of flashbacks and the flashbacks are not in order.

Dedicated to the awesome members of Two Worlds Collide and to everyone who has taken the time to review - you guys really know how to put a smile on my face.

There are parts of this that had me stumped (the 'I had it and by the time I wrote it down I forgot what I was going to write') but I wanted to finish this story so I can move on to something else.

Enjoy!

SoWritten - I hope to start posting the new one at some point next week.

* * *

><p>Her eyes fluttered open. She didn't know what woke her. She listened and heard movement downstairs. She knew it was probably her father, since her father and husband both told her she was not allowed to help at all.<p>

Speaking of her husband, she felt Sam's arm around her and smiled. She tilted her head to study his face. He still had worry lines but not nearly as many as when she'd first come home. Of course, throughout the year, there were plenty of causes for new worry lines.

_Flashback_

_ "What were you thinking?"_

_ She glared at him. "Don't blame this entirely on me Sam."_

_ "Andy" he took a deep breath. "You –"_

_ "I know Sam!" she hissed, cutting him off. She glanced at the clock. "Look, we'll have to continue this later. Serena's asleep and Lissy gets out of school early. My dad was supposed to be home already and I don't know where he is. Can you stay with Serena until he gets back?"_

_ "Does he know?"_

_ She froze, keys dangling in her hand. When she responded, her eyes met his and he saw the anger and hurt swirling in them. "Of course not Sam. Why would I tell him before I told you?" she turned to leave._

_ Sam jumped up from his seated position on the couch. He walked towards her and trapped her in his hold before turning her to face him. "I'm sorry" he whispered, kissing her forehead. "I'm just…I'm scared Andy. The doctor said to wait." Even as he spoke, his hands slipped under her shirt and caressed her stomach.  
><em>

_ Tears filled her eyes. "Me too. But I need you Sam, more than ever."_

_ He kissed her gently on the lips, a sweet reassuring kiss. "I know. I'll be right here with you every step of the way. Go get Lissy and then you'll come home and we'll leave the girls with your father so we can go somewhere to talk about this."_

_ "What about work?"_

_ "Jess will understand. She knows that you still need me." Andy had convinced him to go back to work; for Guns and Gangs, not 15th, within a month of her return._

_End Flashback_

She was pulled out of her memory by a thin wail.

Sam's eyes flew open. "Go back to sleep Sam" she said softly, pulling herself out of his arms.

"Andy, let me, please. You're exhausted."

She smiled. "Unless you can feed him, go back to sleep."

Sam sighed and pulled her close, kissing her gently. "I wish I could help more."

Andy smiled against his lips. "You could start by letting me go before he wakes the girls up."

Sam released her and she pushed herself out of bed.

Andy quickly walked to the nursery. She made her way to the crib and lifted her son. "Hi little man" she said softly, rocking him.

Once his cries stopped, she changed him and settled in the rocking chair to feed him.

As she rocked him, her eyes fell on the picture frame hanging on the wall, Lissy's mother's day project that she had brought home a few days after Andy returned home. She smiled as she remembered the excitement on Lissy's face when it was complete and how Lissy begged Sam to hang it up right away.

When she finished feeding her son, she rocked him back to sleep. By the time he was asleep, she was asleep as well.

She half woke when she felt herself being lifted. "Sh, Andy, I've got you."

"The baby?" she murmured against Sam's chest.

"In the crib." He set her down on their bed. "Go back to sleep. You're exhausted."

"Stay" she whispered. Once he nodded she bit her lip and then said "wake me before the girls leave."

"Andy…"

"Please Sam, you have to."

"Fine."

She drifted off, safe in her husband's arms.

_Flashback_

_ She woke to crying and opened her eyes to see Sam standing, changing a diaper. "He hungry?" she asked softly._

_ "I think so" Sam answered, walking over to her. He handed her the baby and let her settle him before asking "how are you feeling?"_

_ "Tired" she answered truthfully._

_ "Well, you've had a long thirty-six hours."_

_ She'd gone into labor in the middle of the night. She woke Sam (because she knew he would be upset if she didn't) but told him that the contractions were far apart and the doctor would send her back home. She was early but the doctor had told her at her appointment two days earlier that the baby was big and he wouldn't be surprised if she gave birth early._

_ In the end, they told Tommy in the morning and had gone to the hospital after dropping the girls off at school. They had also told the girls that 'Grandpa' would be picking them up after school._

_ She didn't give birth until five o'clock in the evening. Sam stayed with her for a while and then Jo came by so someone could stay with Andy while Sam went home to tell the girls and get them into bed._

_ Andy smiled up at him. "So did you." She glanced down at her son who was sucking hungrily. _

_ Sam leaned in and kissed her forehead. "But you did all of the hard work. I just held your hand." He touched his son's cheek, mesmerized by his little man. "Do you need anything?"_

_ "Water would be nice."_

_ Sam grabbed a bottle of water from her bag. He placed it next to her before taking their son from her to burp him._

_ Andy drained the bottle and took the baby back after he burped to finish feeding him._

_ It was quiet in the room. Andy glanced at Sam. He was watching with a look of awe on his face. _

_ The silence was shattered as his phone began to ring. _

_ The fear was evident on both of their faces; the ringtone was the one for their house. Sam answered with a cautious "hello?"_

_ As he listened, he glanced at Andy. "It's okay" he mouthed as he listened. He sighed. "I'm going to put the phone on speaker. Andy's better at this than I am."_

_ He placed the phone on the small table next to her as he told her that Lissy had a nightmare._

_ "Daddy?" a tearful voice asked._

_ "Mommy's here too Lissy. What's wrong?"_

_ "I had a bad dream." She burst into tears._

_ Andy's grip tightened on their son as she tried to comfort their daughter over the phone. "Lissy, princess, take a deep breath to help you stop crying and then tell me what your dream was about."_

_ There was silence for a minute and then "I had a dream where you and Daddy both didn't come home and then I woke up and went to your room and you're both gone." The sobs started again and neither was able to calm her down, despite reminding her that she had a new baby brother who needed to stay at the hospital._

_ Finally Tommy got back on the line and apologized, explaining that he thought that she would calm down if she spoke to her parents._

_ As soon as Tommy hung up, Andy rounded on Sam. "Go home."_

_ "Andy?"_

_ "Sammy, she needs us. I can't be there and I'll be okay by myself for a few hours. The child psychologist we're using for Lissy told me this might happen. Lissy needs you."_

_ "You sure?" He knew better than to argue._

_ Andy nodded._

_~~00~~_

_ Luckily for everyone, the hospital had an influx in the maternity ward and Andy only had to stay that one night in the hospital._

_ Andy made sure to say goodbye to the girls every morning before school and no matter how tired she was, she was there to greet them when they came home from school._

_End Flashback_

Sam woke Andy. She blinked at him. "Time already?"

He nodded and helped her stand. He led her down the stairs.

"Mommy!" both girls shrieked as soon as they saw her.

Andy smiled and hugged both of them before dropping kisses on their foreheads. "Bye girls. Have a great day at school and I'll be at school later to pick you up."

Sam started to protest. Andy just pointed at the calendar. The date was circled in a bold red, signifying that Andy could drive again.

"With the baby?" Lissy asked.

Andy shook her head. "No. Just us girls. We'll go out for ice cream."

Both of the girls jumped up and down with excitement and then Serena looked at Andy. "Where the baby gonna be?"

Andy knelt next to her daughter. "Daddy or Grandpa will watch him, okay?"

She nodded.

Tommy sighed. "I hate to break this up but if we don't get going, we're going to be late."

Sam stretched out his hand. "I'll take them." He took the keys from Tommy. "Let's go girls."

Tommy waited for Sam to slam the door before turning to his daughter. "Why are you pushing him away?"

Andy sighed. "I'm not pushing him away Dad." She poured herself a glass of water. "I gave birth three weeks early. Sam was in the middle of a case. As much as Jess told him he could take time off, he needs to finish that case. When I spoke to Jess yesterday she said he can take off more time when he finishes. It means that he's going back to work even though he doesn't want to. I want him to have time alone with the baby before that happens. Besides, I know both of you are going to deny it but I feel like I've been neglecting the girls a little."

Tommy sighed, knowing his daughter was right about Sam; although she had not been neglecting her girls. "You still need to explain your reasons to him. If he wants to go with you after you explain it to him, leave me with the baby and go together. It's not worth the fight Andy." He placed a plate of pancakes in front of her. "Eat."

"Are you staying?" she asked as he got up.

"I was going to finish cleaning up."

"Dad! I know what a mess it was last night. I can't believe you cleaned up. I told you I would help."

Tommy grinned. "I know you did Kiddo. However, the barbeque was to celebrate the anniversary of your return _AND_ you did just have a baby so you should be resting, not cleaning up."

She ate some of the pancakes before she responded. "I just hate how you and Sam are treating me like I can't do anything."

"No one said that. You just had a baby. He's been keeping you up at night and the girls have been zapping your energy during the day. You need to rest and let your body heal. Sam and I are just making sure you don't overdo anything. Also remember that you got pregnant before the doctor told you it was okay so we have the right to be worried about you." Sam had discussed his fears about the pregnancy a few times with Tommy - that was the only way he knew about the doctor not having cleared her.

Tommy waited for Sam to return before going on his walk. Sam and Andy talked about why she wanted the girls alone. At first Sam was annoyed that Jess had told Andy but in the end he realized that it was easier that Andy knew. He agreed to stay home with the baby while she took the girls out.

As they finished their conversation, they heard a cry. Sam stood. "Let me change him. I'll bring him down to you."

Andy shook her head. "The bedroom." She grinned at him.

Sam brought the baby into the bedroom and found his wife curled up in bed with a water bottle next to her. She patted the spot next to her. When Sam sat down, she curled up next to him and fed their son.

She fell asleep as Sam burped him the second time and Sam was content to stay in bed with his sleeping wife as he gently rocked his son to sleep.

~~00~~

Tommy came back from his walk and entered to find the house bathed in silence. He grabbed the camera and headed up the stairs. As he assumed, all three of them were asleep. He knew the baby was keeping them up at night and now that all was quiet, they could relax. He wished they would let him help more but he knew his daughter and son-in-law would never agree so he didn't even bother with the suggestion.

He snapped a few pictures, knowing Andy would love the picture – the way she was curled up against Sam and how he had one hand curled protectively around her while his other hand held their son to his chest.

After he took the pictures, he slipped out of the room and headed down to continue the cleanup. Andy could yell all she wanted, he didn't care. If he could clean up most of the house from the barbeque, it would mean that Sam and Andy could spend more time with their kids. As he cleaned, he made a list of things they needed to replenish.

Andy woke feeling content. She saw how Sam was holding their son and smiled. She slipped out of his embrace and went to dress for the day.

When she descended the stairs, she found a note from her father in the kitchen telling them that he went shopping and that they should check the camera. She shook her head as she grabbed the camera. Her father did the shopping whenever he could, even though she and Sam had told him multiple times that he didn't have to. In truth, she thought he was trying to make up for all the times she went shopping in high school.

Checking the camera, a smile lit her face. It was a beautiful picture and she had a feeling that this one would go on her desk. Sam would probably want a copy for his desk as well.

A knock on the door forced her to set aside the camera. She opened the door and pulled the blonde-haired woman inside, hugging her tightly. "Gail! I thought you were leaving today."

Gail smiled and nodded. She had flown into Toronto for three days just to see her friends. "I am. My exam is tomorrow but I couldn't leave without saying goodbye."

Andy nodded. "It makes up for you being under and unable to leave Vancouver when I came home."

_Flashback_

_ "Not such good news." Sam told Andy when she came home from picking Lissy up from school a few days after she came back._

_ "Oh?" she asked. From the look on his face, she knew it was nothing to worry about._

_ "Gail's undercover."_

_ "Still?"_

_ "No. It is a different undercover. She did so well on the first one that when they found out she was willing to stay they seized the opportunity. She was on the streets for a few months with a partner and then the two of them were sent under together. Her handler will give her the news but don't expect a call until she's done; it's too dangerous for her."_

_ Andy nodded. She was about to turn around to go 'help' Lissy with her homework when Andy's cell phone went off. It was a blocked number but lately Andy had been answering everything. "Hello?"_

_ "Welcome home" said a soft voice._

_ "Are you crazy? ! You can't be calling me now as much as I'm happy to hear from you."_

_ There was a laugh. "Just wanted to hear your voice. I'll call again when I can." There was a click._

_ Andy glanced at Sam. "When was her handler supposed to tell her?"_

_ "That was Gail? Then it must have been in the news or something."_

__End Flashback_  
><em>

Gail called when she finished but it was over six months later. She had to tie up loose ends so it was not until Andy had been home for a year that Gail had been able to come to Toronto.

"How's the studying going?"

"Good. Now that I'm out of Toronto and have made some big collars, I've realized that I really do want to become a detective."

"What time do you go back to Vancouver?"

"Steve's outside to take me to the airport but I wanted to say goodbye to you first."

"Andy?" they heard from the top of the stairs.

"Gail's here to say goodbye" she called.

Sam descended. "Hey Gail" he said before looking at Andy. "I changed him but I think he's hungry again."

Gail stepped forward and took the baby. "Hi little man. I'm your Aunt Gail. I live in Vancouver and I'm gonna miss you like crazy. Your Mommy better remember to send pictures."

"And your Aunt Gail better remember to visit" Andy said as she took him, hugging Gail with one hand. "I think your brother is getting impatient." Steve leaned on the horn.

Gail hugged her again. "I'll miss you."

"Me too." Andy didn't ask her to come back; she saw that Gail was genuinely happy. That was Vancouver's doing, being away from the Peck name.

When Gail left, Andy leaned into Sam as they watched her climb into Steve's car. "I'm going to miss her."

"She's not leaving yet."

She pulled away from him as Steve pulled away. "What are you talking about?"

Sam closed the door and led her to the couch. She knew he wouldn't answer her questions until the baby was taken care of. Once she started feeding the baby Sam spoke. "Her partner undercover, Eric, they've been getting pretty serious. He flew into Toronto last night while she was here to speak to her father.

"Steve's on a timeline to get her to the spot where Eric is proposing."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because he called me after you answered the door."

"What about the exam?"

"Next week. Eric has pull, he is already a detective. He was only out on the streets with her as a test run for their undercover."

"Oh." She patted the spot next to her and curled into him when he sat. "It's funny, you know." She had a faraway look in her eyes. "Gail's a Peck. Everyone thought she'd go the farthest but she's the last one from 15th to move from the uniform."

Sam just smiled.

By the time the baby finished nursing, Tommy had returned home. The three of them ate lunch together.

After lunch, Tommy convinced Andy that he needed some one-on-one time with his grandson.

Sam dragged Andy out of the house and they went for a walk through the neighborhood, just enjoying each other's company.

They were almost home when Andy's cell phone rang. "If that's Frank, don't answer."

"Saaaaaaam," she whined "he's my boss."

_Flashback_

_ Three months after she came home, she sat perched on Sam's desk. Her father had taken Serena for the day to some event for Sarah's kids in St. Catharines and told Sam to take Andy for lunch._

_ Sam glanced at her and took in her appearance. "Please tell me that you drove" he said softly._

_ She rolled her eyes. "I'm bored Sam. I have nothing to do at home."_

_ "Andy…"_

_ "Sam, please! I love Serena and I love my father but I can't do this anymore. Dad used to watch the girls when we both worked."_

_ Sam straightened his desk. "Fine." He knew it was a lost battle. "Then let's go see Frank."_

_.  
><em>

_ Frank couldn't help them. He sent them to Superintendent Peck._

_ Elaine Peck was waiting for them in her office when they arrived at Headquarters. "Detective Swarek, Officer McNally, what can I do for you today?"_

_ Andy squeezed Sam's hand. "I'd like to come back to work, but a desk job, not the streets."_

_ Elaine Peck studied her wearily. "You sure?" When Andy nodded, she tapped her lip thoughtfully a few times before speaking again. "I have a proposition. There have been some issues recently between my specialty units and my divisions. The worst was between Vice and 31st."_

_ Sam and Andy nodded. Jess had come in one day venting about how a watched criminal had been able to slip under the radar because of an issue between Vice and 31st. Sam had told Andy when he got home._

_ "Therefore, I'm adding a person to each division whose job is solely to coordinate with my specialty units. I don't have anyone yet for 15th._

_ "The job is a little more flexible with hours and you probably won't see much, if any action. This is the type of job where you can also probably work at home if one of the girls gets sick."_

_ Andy glanced at Sam. Her priorities had shifted, she no longer wanted to be out on the streets but she did miss her extended family. To be able to go back to 15th would be great for her._

_ Sam nodded._

_ "I'll take it."_

_ Superintendent Peck smiled. "I'm glad."_

_ "When do I start?"_

_ Elaine Peck leaned back in her chair. "Now that's the issue. You still have time on your paid leave. However, every other division has this role filled with a detective."_

_ "You want me to become a detective?"_

_ Elaine nodded. "Use the rest of the time to study for the exams, requalify to use your gun, the works. My secretary has some forms for you to sign."_

_ Andy stood. Sam motioned for her to go, telling her that he'd be out in a second. As soon as the door closed, he said "you planned this."_

_ "Not the position but of course. I didn't want to lose one of my best officers. Natural reaction right after is to want to quit. I just wasn't sure how much time she would need so I erred on the side of caution."_

_~~00~~  
><em>

_ Andy studied and aced the exam. She explained the situation to Lissy in simple terms – she missed Lissy so much that she needed to do something to keep herself busy. She also made a deal with Frank; the girls came first._

_End Flashback_

Andy had given birth early and Sam had quickly learned that Frank used her as a crutch now when it came to the special units – which was ridiculous considering the fact that 15th was one of the only divisions that actually got along with all of the special units.

Sam grabbed Andy's phone from her hand. Sure enough, it was Frank. "She's on maternity leave so you need to figure it out without her" he snapped before hanging up.

Andy just rolled her eyes and unlocked the door to the house.

* * *

><p>Before Andy knew it, she only had half an hour before she had to pick up the girls. "Where has the day gone?" she muttered to Sam.<p>

He chuckled and nodded at the little man asleep in the baby swing. "Ask him."

She smiled. "You'll be okay with him?"

Sam nodded, rolling his eyes. "I'm his father, not a babysitter. We'll be fine. We do have two other children you know. I've taken care of them when they were babies."

Andy sighed. "I know. I guess I'm…" she trailed off.

"You're his mother. You always worry. I know you worried about the girls even while you were held captive."

She smiled. "You're right on both counts. Listen, did Sarah speak to you last night?"

Sam nodded and smiled. He hadn't known Andy called Sarah and asked Sarah to come even though Sarah hated the city. It had been a nice surprise for him.

"She asked me if we could come for the weekend. I told her I had to ask you first but it sounded fine."

"I told her the same. She just wants time with the kids."

"So, it'll be nice. I think she also spoke to my dad."

"She did. We'll continue this later and figure everything out; I don't want you to be late."

* * *

><p>Andy ordered the ice cream for all of them and sat down with the girls. Lissy sat next to her and Serena sat on her lap. As they ate, the girls told her what they had done the night before at the barbeque. Andy had not seen them all night. As soon as the other kids arrived, all of the kids had disappeared somewhere. She was busy with the baby and being social and knew her father and Sam could take care of any issues but now she wanted to hear. All she knew was that Sam found the girls conked out on the couch and had moved them to their beds.<p>

They were almost finished when the bell chimed, signaling a new customer. It had been chiming the entire time and Andy ignored it but Lissy had become a people watcher and stared at each person as they entered. Andy ignored this chime as well, until Lissy called "Aunt Denise, Aunt Sue!"

Andy looked up as the two women walked over. "Hi" she said cheerfully. "We missed you last night Sue. And Denise, you disappeared before I had a chance to talk to you."

Both women smiled. "Girls day out?" Sue asked.

"We go with Mommy. No boys" Serena said.

"Cool." Sue smiled. "Give me a minute." She stood and then put a hand on Denise's shoulder. "Sit. I know what you want."

Andy glanced at Denise as Sue walked away. "How're you feeling?"

Denise rubbed her vastly expanded stomach. "Tired. I can't sleep anymore. It drives Chris crazy. But soon…" she trailed off with a faraway look in her eyes, undoubtedly thinking about holding her baby.

"Then you and Uncle Chris both won't sleep" Lissy stated. Thankfully Denise didn't hear it and Andy shot her a glare and shook her head. She wasn't surprised that Lissy noticed that her brother cried a lot at night and had probably noticed that her parents were exhausted.

Sue returned and sat down, nudging Denise in the process. "You look awesome by the way" she said to Andy. "I can't believe you had a baby only two weeks ago."

Andy was about to answer when Lissy spoke. "Aunt Sue, when are you going to have a baby?"

Andy covered her eyes and made a mental note to have a talk with her daughter about rude comments/questions but Sue took it in stride. "Well, your Uncle Dov and I are very busy at work right now and we want to get married first. So we'll see." She had been thinking about it more often, especially after getting together with Andy, Denise, and Traci. Andy and Denise had been pregnant and Traci already had a few kids, she did feel a little left out for part of the conversation.

Her answer satisfied Lissy and they talked for a few more minutes before Andy's phone vibrated. She glanced at her new text before standing up, placing Serena on the floor. "Girls, we have to go."

They both started to protest. Serena even climbed back into the seat Andy had just vacated. They were having a good time with their aunts and didn't want to leave.

"Daddy needs help."

"Mommy" Lissy said in an exasperated tone. "Daddy _never_ needs help."

"So if he says he needs help it must be really important" Andy countered.

She herded her girls out. As she passed Denise, she squeezed her shoulder and whispered, "if you need anything, call. Even in the middle of the night. The baby is up anyway."

Denise nodded. Andy had been really helpful throughout the pregnancy, even with two kids and another on the way.

* * *

><p>When they got home, Sam met them by the garage door with a screaming infant. "Sorry to call you home. He's already changed but I think he's hungry."<p>

Andy took him from Sam. "Lissy, you need to do your homework before you do anything else."

"With you?"

"With Daddy but I'll check it over if you want." Andy shrugged out of her jacket and handed it to Sam as she walked towards the living room. She knew he could help Serena with her jacket.

Serena wandered in three minutes later. "What'cha doing?" she asked.

"Feeding your brother."

"Can I help?"

"Yeah. Can you do me a _big_ favor and ask Daddy for my water bottle?"

Serena disappeared. When she returned, she held Andy's water. Andy took it from her and drank as Serena climbed up. "Thank you sweetie."

Andy positioned the burp cloth on her shoulder and then shifted her son. Serena watched with interest. "What'cha doing now?" she wanted to know.

"The baby doesn't know how to burp on his own so I have to help him."

"I can help?" she asked hopefully.

Andy showed her how to rub gently. Serena giggled when two loud burps came from her brother's mouth.

When Andy settled him to finish feeding him, Serena's questions continued. It suddenly dawned on Andy that Serena had never watched him being fed before. Andy normally fed him in the nursery or the master bedroom. Lissy had come in a few times (in the middle of the night, of course) but Serena had never shown interest. "What's he drinking Mommy?"

"Milk" Andy answered. She knew simplicity was the best.

Serena climbed down. "Can I drink milk in here too?"

Andy normally kept a strict policy about food and drink only in the kitchen with the exception being water but she nodded. "Ask Daddy for a cup with a cover."

Serena returned and curled up against Andy, drinking her milk while she played with the rings around Andy's neck. Of course as soon as the rings fit without sliding her fingers started to swell a little thanks to the pregnancy.

When Sam came in, he grinned and left to find the camera. Andy covered herself and then let him take the picture. "Lissy's done and waiting for you." He told her. He noticed that she had finished. "Let me burp him."

"I'm doing it!" Serena declared.

Andy nodded. "Daddy will help you." She stood and passed the baby to Sam. "Rubbing only, no patting" she said in an undertone.

She checked Lissy's homework and praised her for doing a good job and for doing it neatly the first time. Lissy smiled at the praise and asked to go play outside. When Andy nodded, she yelled "Serena! Mommy said we could go outside."

"Jackets." Andy called as she heard the patterning of feet.

Sam came into the kitchen as she finished zippering Serena's jacket. He extended a hand to help her off the floor and then handed her her jacket.

She slipped into it, smiling at the sight of their son nested against his chest in the Baby B'jorn baby carrier. Sam had him in a jacket as well.

The two of them walked outside, hand-in-hand. They watched the girls for a while. "You know" Andy said eventually "when my dad is not home we can't play one-on-one anymore. It's kinda weird."

Sam squeezed her hand. "Sweetheart, we haven't been playing one-on-one for a while now."

_Flashback_

_ Her father was at Poker and Sam was eating dinner since he had stayed late to finish up a case (well, that was her fault, she had a doctor's appointment the next day and she wanted him there). She was upstairs with the girls giving Serena her bath._

_ As Serena splashed around in the water, playing with her bath toys, Andy brushed Lissy's hair. It had only taken three weeks before Lissy realized that she liked taking showers and had gone back to showering. Now the fight was always about who would go first._

_ "Mommy?" Lissy said after a few minutes._

_ "Hmm," Andy murmured. She thought she heard Sam coming up the stairs and was trying to figure out if she could convince him to do bedtime tonight. She was exhausted and had spent most of the day on her feet despite the doctor's orders._

_ "You're getting fat."_

_ That startled her. She stared at her daughter for a second as a chuckle sounded in the doorway. "I told you she would notice."_

_ It was true. She had been wearing loose clothing and wasn't showing much – probably because people just assumed she was putting on the weight she had lost during her captivity. She wasn't ready to tell people, even though she was over twenty weeks._

_ As she blinked stupidly, Sam took over. "Okay. Serena, time to come out and get into pajamas and then we're all going to go into Mommy and Daddy's room and tell you about the special news we have for you."_

_ Sitting on their bed, Sam and Andy told the girls that they were going to be big sisters and then let them stay for the night._

* * *

><p><em> Lissy was a lot more helpful around the house. Serena didn't understand and sometimes threw temper tantrums – like when Andy had to stop bathing her because she couldn't get up and she couldn't lift Serena out of the tub.<em>

_End Flashback_

Andy blushed. "You're right. But this little guy is worth it." She bent a little. "Aren't you?" she cooed at her son.

Sam grinned. As worried as he had been, everything worked out.

"By the way, where's my dad?"

"Traci called. Her mom drove Leo's basketball carpool and then Traci got called back in. Your father is watching the kids until someone gets home."

She nodded and then went to join her girls on the swing-set when they called to her.

* * *

><p>Her father returned in time for dinner. The girls wanted hotdogs and the adults rooted around, looking through the leftovers from the day before. They ate on the patio.<p>

When the girls finished, they went back to the swing set. Andy let them; knowing the days were getting colder and soon they would not be playing outside. She leaned against Sam. "This is much nicer than yesterday."

Tommy chuckled. "That's my girl. Hates the attention."

Sam kissed her forehead. "Everyone missed you when you were gone. It was just a way to celebrate the anniversary of your return."

"Well, it better not become an annual thing. I want to put this behind me but I can't if people celebrate it."

Sam just chuckled and held her closer. They sat quietly for a while, keeping one eye on the girls and the other eye on the baby, sleeping peacefully in his car seat.

Tommy broke the silence as the baby started to stir. "I hate to break this up, it's been a great evening, but the girls have school tomorrow."

Andy sighed and pushed herself up. "Girls" she called.

Tommy grinned as his granddaughters raced to Andy. "If you don't mind…" he took the baby inside.

.

Lissy won the argument and jumped into the shower first. Serena claimed Sam to play Candy Land with her so Andy took the opportunity to shower without anyone calling for her.

When she finished, she stopped to see Sam giving Serena a bath. "Want me to do that?" she asked from the doorway.

"No. Daddy." Serena replied.

Andy shook her head as she moved on. Who bathed Serena depended on Serena's mood and they stopped fighting her. Even Tommy had done it a few times.

Lissy was curled up in bed, reading a book. She finished her page and then looked up at Andy. Andy smiled. They were reading the 'Little House on the Prairie' series together. Andy grabbed the book and they curled up together as Andy read until Sam came in with Serena.

Serena sat on Andy's lap as Andy read a bedtime story and then tucked them both into bed. She and Sam kissed them and whispered "goodnight" before backing out of the room.

"I'll bring him up" Sam said quietly.

Andy went into the nursery to wait.

Andy fed their son and tried to put him down but he cried. She turned off the monitor and stayed in the room. After ten minutes she realized it was useless. As soon as she picked him up his cries ceased. "You just want to be held, don't you" she whispered softly.

She turned the monitor back on so she wouldn't forget later and headed to the master bedroom.

Sam held out his arms and took their son from her so she could crawl in next to him. "Little man, night time is sleep time and Mommy's exhausted."

Andy relaxed as Sam spoke to their son.

She was half asleep when he nudged her. "I've been thinking."

"Uhoh" she murmured.

"Seriously. Are you awake?"

She sat up. "Yes." She frowned. "Little man, you need to close your eyes."

Sam cleared his throat and she looked at him. "Andy, you're exhausted and it doesn't help that you keep running back and forth to the nursery every night."

"What do you suggest?" He was right.

"You know that ridiculous carriage that doesn't fit in the car?"

"The Buggabo?" They both hated it.

"Yeah. One of the ways it folds out is like a bassinet. If we keep it in here and clear some space on the dresser for the portable changing table, I can help you." He turned slightly, mindful of the baby. "You won't even have to get out of bed."

"That's tempting" she said with a smile and then kissed him gently. "Trial run tomorrow night" she announced after breaking the kiss. She cocked her head. "You still don't want to sleep lil' man?" She frowned. "Maybe he's like Lissy."

Sam followed her line of thought. "It's not that bad out if we wrap him in a blanket and it's early enough that your dad is not asleep. He can listen for the girls."

Tommy was in the living room watching some sports channel. He waved them out without even listening. "I'll listen for the girls."

Sam settled on the swing and Andy curled up next to him, holding the baby. She began to sing softly to him and Sam resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"My Mommy comes back, she always comes back, she always comes back to get me. My Mommy comes back, she always comes back, she never will forget me."

Andy sang the song twice and by the end of the second repetition, their son was asleep.

Andy looked at Sam. "I saw you. Why the eye roll?"

"Let's go back inside."

"After you answer me."

Sam stood and held out his hand. "I hate that song."

Andy took his hand. "It's what kept Lissy going the entire time I was gone Sam."

She stepped into the house and stood next to him as he locked up. He took the baby from her.

"Besides," she linked her hand through his, "the song is right Sam. _I __**always**__ come back._"

* * *

><p>A.N. Reviews make my day so let me know what you think.<p>

A.N. 2 - I didn't name the baby because I struggled to think of a name that would flow and when I finally decided on one, inserting the name just sounded stilted.


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